Bedtime Stories
by SandyKirsten
Summary: Nighttime Kandy conversations that I wish Josh showed us in Season three. Each chapter represents a different episode. Chapter 15 is up. The Heavy Lifting. The beginning of the downfall!
1. The Aftermath

_**I know I said I wouldn't be back for a while, but I just couldn't stay away. I decided to go with a missing scenes fic. I hope you guys enjoy it. **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nada! If I did, these scenes would have been in the show!**_

A/N: These chapters are much shorter than my normal sagas. I promise I will finish this, but I'm just not sure how long it will take me to get through every episode of seasons three and four.

The Aftermath – Original Airdate – September 8th, 2005.

Kristen had this thing about speaking to Sandy ever night before she went to bed. It was a pact they settled on in the very early stages of their relationship. No matter where they were or how drunk they became, they would always make sure to say goodnight to each other. It was something Kirsten picked up from her mother.

"Don't ever go to bed angry." Rose said. "It essential that you work things out before the day is over, otherwise your problems will carry with you to the next morning. They will never dissolve into thin air."

Kirsten followed her mother's advice and although Sandy didn't necessarily agree with this, he knew it was one of Kirsten's quirks and accepted it. It was a routine they easily fell into, although not all their goodnights were expressed with just words.

It was the end of the summer and Sandy missed his wife terribly. It had been way too long since they said their goodnights side by side, while wrapped in their expensive pratesi sheets. Three and a half months had passed, but they still made sure they spoke every night.

Her time at Suriak had to be coming to an end. He spoke to Dr. Woodruff himself and he said Kirsten was more than ready to come home. He was still trying to figure out why she lied to him today. He went to visit her and she seemed unsure, almost timid about coming home.

As usual Seth's timing was impeccable. He was going to tell her he knew Dr. Woodruff gave her the green light, but Seth called to tell him that Trey woke up. Unfortunately this case involving Seth and Ryan trumped his wife's aversions.

Kirsten knew something was off about the way Sandy acted this afternoon. Actually he has not been himself since she was in rehab. She couldn't blame him though. Because of her drinking, she turned his life upside down.

She didn't know the half of it. She didn't know about what happened after he dropped her off at Suriak. The phone call he received from Seth that nearly caused him a heart attack. She didn't know that Ryan was almost killed, the boys were being interrogated and that they all were experiencing sleepless nights.

It was getting late and she wanted to say goodnight to Sandy before she fell asleep. She made her way out into the hallway and dialed her familiar number.

Sandy was getting changed from taking Ryan home from prison. The sight of Ryan in a jumpsuit was very unnerving for Sandy. He thought he rescued him from that life. Yet, there he was, sitting on the opposite side of the table wearing midnight blue with seven snaps.

He just wished life were simpler. He didn't want to think about Trey. He was hopefully out of their lives for the time being. He certainly didn't want to think about Jimmy and what a pussy he proved to be. He didn't want to think about Julie and all of her manipulation. He didn't even want to think about The Newport Group, ironically the one thing that kept his mind off of all the horrors of the summer.

He just wanted to think about Kirsten. He started to reach for the phone to call her when the cordless receiver rang in his hands.

"I was just going to call you." He answered knowing it was her.

"Great minds." She replied. "I just wanted to thank you for visiting today."

"For the thousandth time, you don't have to thank me. I wish I could come more than I do."

"I miss you." She said quietly. She hated the lack of privacy the hallway phone held. "You just left and I miss you terribly."

Sandy thought about what to say next. Should he bring up the fact that she could be home with him soon? Today was the first time he admitted it out loud and to Jimmy of all people. Kirsten didn't want to come home.

Kirsten could tell Sandy was deep in thought. He was rarely this quiet and she decided to mention it. "Sandy, I know I've asked you this a million times since I came to Suriak, but are you okay?"

He decided to let things lie for now. "I just miss you too." He replied back.

"Are we going to be okay?" She was suddenly worried once again for what she had put him through.

"You never have to worry about us. I'm not going anywhere. You believe me right?" Sandy felt like she needed constant reassurance.

"Yes, but I can't help thinking there is more going on than what you are telling me."

_Shit_, Sandy thought. He didn't want to do anything to negate the progress Kirsten has made. "What do you mean?"

"It's just..." She thought about how to express something so intangible. "You come here and make jokes about peanut butter cookies, but I can tell something is bothering you. As soon as Seth called, you entire disposition changed."

Sandy was quiet, thanking God he was on the phone and she couldn't see him in person.

When Sandy stayed quiet, Kirsten knew she was right. "I don't mean just today. You have been distant with me the entire summer and I can't help but think that you cannot get over what happened between us."

Sandy wanted to ease her worries. "It has nothing to do with us. Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Just answer the question. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, probably more than anyone on this Earth."

"Then I need you to trust that you and I are fine."

"Okay, but I know that there is something going on. I am trying to understand why you would keep it from me, but if you want me to trust you then I will. I understand that whatever it is, you feel that I am better off not knowing."

Sandy decided to give in, just a bit. "There's been some drama with the boys. They are physically fine and they miss you very much. They cannot wait for you to come home. I cannot wait for you to come home."

"Are you sure they are okay?" Kirsten was immediately worried. Her worry for her relationship with Sandy was quickly replaced with her worry for her children.

"Yes. Everything is fine." Sandy wouldn't have been able to say that yesterday, but now with Trey making his statement that Marissa actually pulled the trigger, it was the truth. He thought about opening a Pandora's box. "Tell me what's going on with you?"

Kirsten knew Sandy was done talking about the boys and she obliged for his sake. "After you left today I had a session with my counselor. I thought it went pretty well."

"Did you talk about why you don't want to come home?" Sandy said coldly. He didn't mean for the words to come out so quickly. He didn't mean to sound so accusing.

"Why would you say that?" She whispered, not wanting anyone to hear her.

Sandy started to climb into bed, nestling his head against the pillows. "Just like you can tell there is something going on with me, I can definitely tell there is something going on with you."

She should have known he could see the fear in her eyes. "Sandy, there is nothing I want more than to come home to you and the boys. That doesn't mean I'm not petrified of that becoming a reality."

"What are you so afraid of?"

"That I'm not going to be the woman I used to be. That I am not going to be who you all expect me to be."

"We love whoever you are, because ultimately you are my wife and Seth and Ryan's mother. That is the only thing that matters to us."

"Okay." She said accepting his response.

"Okay?" He needed to hear to it again. He needed to make sure everything would be perfect once she came home.

"Okay." She said more firmly. "I'm going to go to bed. Are you turning in soon?"

"Soon? I'm already under the covers."

"Oh, I miss that image." She said seductively.

"You? I'm dying in this big bed without you."

She laughed at his exaggeration. "Goodnight Sandy. I love you."

"I love you too."

--

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_**Please review for my sanity.**_


	2. The Shape of Things to Come

The Shape of Things to Come – Original Airdate: September 15, 2005 

_**My apologies for this taking so long.**_

_**Disclaimer: The italic sections are Josh's words!**_

A week later, Sandy still found his home Kirsten-less. After their phone conversation, neither brought up the topic of her coming home. Sandy wanted to tell her she was crazy. He wanted to make her understand there was nothing to fear. Instead, he didn't say anything. He was the one now afraid to broach the subject because he didn't want to push her into staying at Suriak even longer. For the first time, he wasn't exactly sure how to handle it.

He didn't know how much longer he could go on without her in their daily routine. The house was falling apart, they barely ate as a family and they were all feeling a sense of loneliness that Sandy didn't have the energy to fill.

On top of all of this, Julie made a surprise visit to their house. She was truly the last person that Sandy wanted to see. In typical Julie fashion, she comes bearing horrific news. Marissa and Ryan could possibly be expelled from harbor, something he definitely couldn't keep from Kirsten. If what Julie said held true, he would have to come clean to Kirsten about everything and then she would definitely want to stay in the serene Suriak environment.

Meanwhile Kirsten got the official word from Dr. Woodruff that she would be released tomorrow. She knew Sandy was coming to visit her tomorrow and she figured she would surprise him. She knew he would be thrilled. She just wished she shared his excitement. She was still terrified that minute she gets home she was going to do nothing but disappoint the men in her life.

Later that day, Charlotte came to her room and ironically, she was being released tomorrow too. Kirsten could help but enjoy the fact that they were so much alike. It seemed like she truly understood what she was going through and it was a comfort.

Charlotte made mention of a place she was going before heading home to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. She even offered to have Kirsten go with her, just to escape for a little bit longer.

The whole idea was crazy. The thought of not going home to Sandy, to her boys was insane. She barely knew Charlotte, but something about the offer intrigued her. Charlotte seemed to know so much about relapsing and if it meant not disappointing her boys, why wouldn't she give it a try?

That evening Sandy had headed home to have a rare dinner with his sons. It was something that they didn't do nearly enough. A phone call came from the school, giving Sandy a great sense of relief. Ryan would be allowed to stay enrolled at Harbor. Relief was not an emotion Sandy was used to feeling these days. Call it selfish, but Sandy's sense of relief was that he was not going to have to disclose any of the summer's events to Kirsten until she came home.

That night he called Suriak to speak with her, feeling happier than he had in a few days. Even though things had not changed much from the last time they spoke, Sandy felt as if he dodged a major bullet. Sure he felt bad about Marissa and he knew Ryan wasn't going to cope well with that, but he would cross that bridge when they came to it.

"Suriak Rehabilitation Center. How may I assist your call?" The receptionist answered.

"This is Sandy Cohen? I was wondering if my wife was available."

"Good evening Mr. Cohen. Give us a few minutes."

It was the standard response. They had to locate Kirsten, then find an available hallway phone and then transfer him once Kirsten was there. It always took a few minutes, but it didn't matter. He would wait an eternity just to speak to her.

"Hey." She said, loving that he beat her to the call. "I was going to give you a half hour and then call."

"It's okay. I missed you and wanted to hear your voice." He said, knowing how sappy it sounded. He didn't care.

"I miss you too and cannot wait to see you tomorrow." She loved when she had something to look forward to.

"Me either." Sandy couldn't understand how she could make statements like that, but still not be rushing home to them.

"How is everyone? The boys? Did they register today?"

"Yes, everything is fine. They miss you." He constantly told her that.

They spoke a little bit longer and then said their goodnights.

The next morning Sandy grabbed Seth's present and headed out. He had to stop by The Newport Group for a bit and then headed out to see his Kirsten. Since she wasn't outside when he arrived, he made his way inside the massive building. After signing in, he headed down the long hallway and made a quick left to her room.

She started to head to the door to greet Sandy outside, but was pleasantly surprised to see him there about to knock. She was startled at first, but then her features eased and a genuine smile spread across her face.

"Hey you." She said before grabbing his blue shirt by the collar and pulling him close to her. She captured his lips in hers and kissed him with as much passion as she could muster. With his jacket in his arms and Seth's present, he couldn't embrace her the way he wanted. She started to walk backward and he followed suit, not wanting to break the kiss.

Once she felt the lack of his arms around her, she reached for his coat and package he was holding and threw it haphazardly on the bed. She didn't want to break their kiss and she smiled through it once Sandy embraced her fully.

He pushed her against the nearest wall, wanting her to feel the stirring in his pants. He hated that he had no self-control, but it had been so long since he had Kirsten had slept together. "What are you doing to me?" He whispered as he kissed her neck.

"I know. I'm sorry." She moaned back.

"I thought we had a pact?" He questioned.

Suddenly, she pulled back remembering that they both swore they wouldn't have sex until she was home. It was used as a motivational tool to have them both work extra hard toward her homecoming. "I'm sorry. I just can't help myself."

"You can't help yourself?" He questioned, motioning to his groin area.

She leaned in and kissed him softly and sweetly in an effort to calm him down. "So, what did you bring me?" She said as she took a seat on the bed, picking up the package.

"It's not actually from me. Seth put it together."

_"Dirt, the Motley Crue story. Well, that oughta put things in perspective."_

_"Our son has a very strange take on self-help." _

_"How are the boys? I miss them." _

_"They're great. They miss you like crazy, but I'm guessing they're going to be seeing you soon taking that suitcase as a good sign." Sandy said, taking notice to the fact that she actually packed. _

_"I am leaving." She said vaguely. _

_"Oh honey, that's great news. Your timing couldn't be better. We cleaned up the house it was...it was a pit."_

_"Sandy I'm not coming home. I'm going to Lake Arrowhead with a friend." _

_"A friend?" Now Kirsten had friends more important than her own family. _

_Kirsten knew she had to explain. She didn't want Sandy to think it was another man. "Her name is Charlotte. She has a lot of experience with these things. The dangers of relapse." _

_"Honey if you're thinking about relapse, why check out at all?" He couldn't believe after all this time that she still had the craving to drink._

"I'm not saying that. Its just that..." She struggled with how to explain something that Sandy would never understand. Months of therapy and better communication skills and still she couldn't effectively express her feelings.

_"You don't want to come home?" He asked sadly. _

_"No! Yes! Yes, I want to come home, of course I do. I just need to know that when I do, that I'm home for good. That this is all behind me." _

_Sandy was trying to understand her reasoning, but he had to ask the next logical question. "Is there a timetable for this?" He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. She can finally come home and she's not going to. _

_"Oh Sandy, I don't know." _

_"Well when you do, call me?" He didn't want to fight with her about this. He was afraid to tell her much of anything these days, so he let it slide._

She smiled, hoping he truly understood her. She leaned in to kiss him again, but she could feel that Sandy was extremely tense.

Sandy left and Kirsten could tell he was not happy with her right now. She felt terrible, but wanted to do what was right in the long run.

Confirming her worst fears, Sandy was little cold to her during their nighttime conversation. He told her that he loved her and that he would do whatever she wanted. He just didn't understand. He didn't think that all the reasoning in the world would help him make sense of this. Before hanging up, she told him she loved him for being so good about this whole thing, even though deep down he was hurting inside.

The next day, Kirsten and Charlotte arrived at her house on the lake. As beautiful as the house was, she was extremely scared of making the wrong decisions. Should she be here? Did she need her family or someone like Charlotte who has first hand experience with this? Would Sandy eventually come around?

Charlotte was speaking out loud as they entered the house, but Kirsten was caught up in her own thoughts. Charlotte was quick to notice.

_"Thinking about Sandy?" _

_"Can't help it. I feel like I've let him down yet again." _

_"You're doing this for him." She said reassuringly. _

"I don't think he sees it that way."

_"Well then show him. Invite him over for dinner." _

_"You really wouldn't mind?" She asked, hoping that maybe Sandy could see everything through her eyes if he came to visit. _

_"Of course not! You've been talking so much about your perfect husband, I'd love to meet him."_

Kirsten didn't waste any time calling Sandy and asking him to come there for dinner. She just wanted to make things right between them. Maybe this was a good first step.

Sandy arrived and Charlotte observed how truly in love the two of them were. It actually made her sick. How can two people who have been together this long still be so thrilled in one another's company?

They sat through dinner and discussed mostly the events and people at Suriak. Sandy didn't want to discuss any personal in front of Charlotte. There was just something about this woman that he didn't trust. He knew his judgment was mostly based on his anger and resentment that Kirsten chose her over him, but there was just something else that he couldn't put his finger on.

Once they finished dinner, Charlotte actually gave them some time alone, which Kirsten was grateful. He showed Sandy the room she was staying in and as soon as he closed the door behind him, she closed the gap between them. She started kissing him hard, pushing his back against the door, leaning her entire body against his. She waited so long to be out of Suriak to be doing this with Sandy. She spoke through her kiss. "You know, it's been so long since we have been alone outside of Suriak."

Sandy knew what that statement meant, but this was not how he was picturing their reunion to be. Although she was out of rehab, she was still not home. He felt her trying to probe her tongue past his lips and finally he pulled away. He knew he had to approach this is a very gentle manner. "Kirsten..." He started, cupping her face to let her know he loved her. "...it's not that I don't want this. I have been dreaming about being with you for months now, but someone else's house in Lake Arrowhead was not part of the dream."

Kirsten knew what he was saying, and suddenly she felt embarrassed. She moved out of his grasp and turned her back to him. "Okay." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." Sandy continued. "I love you and want to you to come home. I don't want this place to become that."

Her embarrassment was replaced by anger. She spun around to face him, words flowing out like sour saliva. "So you are going to withhold sex until I come home? Do you have any idea how absurd that is? This should be a time to celebrate for us and you don't see it that way. I'm finally out and you should be proud of that." She could feel the frustration pouring through her veins.

"I'll celebrate when you actually come home." He bitterly said back.

Once again she was reminded of how he didn't understand a thing she was going through. "I think you should leave." She said walking further away from him, staring out the window.

"Kirsten..." Sandy started, not wanting to fight with her.

"Just go. I want to be left alone for awhile." She turned back to face him, knowing she was going to have to appease him so way so he would actually leave. "Just call me when you get home okay?"

When Sandy arrived home, he found Ryan sitting alongside the pool.

_"I thought you'd be at the carnival."_

_"Well, it didn't really work out." Ryan replied sadly._

_"So I guess Marissa's expulsion hasn't been easy on you two huh?_

_"Yeah. I just wish there was something I could do. You know? Ryan said softly. _

_"So you want to fix this? The universal male instinct happens to the best of us." He said taking a seat next to Ryan. He spent the entire drive home trying to figure out a way to fix this thing with him and Kirsten._

_"So what?" He asked. "I'm supposed to sit here and do nothing?"_

_"No, You need to go back, but just listen."_

_Ryan nodded in response. "yeah, Just listen." It seemed easy enough._

_"Trust me. It works better than you think." Sandy said, deciding to take his own advice._

Once Ryan took off to go talk, or in his case, listen to Marissa, Sandy knew he had to call Kirsten. He made his way to his bedroom and sat on their bed, once again wishing she were there with him. What wasn't he getting? He needed to do some listening of his own.

Charlotte answered and it felt like she kept him waiting forever. Once he heard her voice, his heart melted. "Hi. I just calling to let you know I'm home."

"Okay." She said softly. He knew that tone. She was clearly upset by what had happened.

"That's not the only reason." He continued. "I'm so sorry. I really am, but I'm ready to listen to you. I ready to really try to understand your need to be there and not here. I'm sorry I don't get it, but you know me. I'm so stubborn and I want you here."

Kirsten felt terrible. "I feel like I'm letting you down once again."

"No. Please don't feel like that."

"How do you expect me to feel Sandy?" She asked.

"I want you to feel the pride I feel in what you have accomplished. I didn't mean to diminish that in any way."

"Thank you." She said, loving that he always knew how to make her feel better.

"So you want to explain this to me. Help me understand so what happened today never ever happens again."

"I don't know what you want me to say." She said feeling helpless.

"I want you to really tell me why you are there and not here."

"Because I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" He couldn't understand what she could possibly be afraid of, but he promised himself he would really listen this time.

"Afraid that I am going to fail again, afraid that I'm going to let you down, afraid that you are going to ship me back to Suriak. I can list a million things."

Sandy felt terrible because ultimately she was afraid of him. "Kirsten, every little feeling you are having right now, we can get through them together. I'm never going to leave your side. We can get through anything. We are that strong. I hope you know that because I truly believe that with all my heart."

"They're just words Sandy. Actions speak louder than words."

"Well, let me prove it to you then. Give me a chance to make you feel safe and comfortable, not scared and vulnerable."

Kirsten thought about it and as tempting as it was, she was not ready. "I just need some time. Is that okay?"

Sandy sighed, but not loud enough for her to hear over the phone line. "Yes, I'll be here waiting whenever you are ready."

"Thank you."

"I love you Kirsten. Don't ever doubt that."

"I love you too Sandy."

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Please hit that button and make me smile! 


	3. The End of Innocence

_**The End Of Innocence – Original Airdate – September 22, 2005**_

_**Disclaimer: Italics are Josh's words!**_

Sorry this took so long – The lack of reviews didn't help with my motivation. Thanks to all of you who took the time to leave me a review.

Sandy didn't think he really knew what stress was until this past week came into existence. Sure, he felt stress before, but never like this. Sometimes his job stressed him out, his father-in-law constantly did even in death, but Ryan was trumping it all.

When Ryan and Seth came home from the carnival, he actually felt his chest constrict was the pressure he was causing on himself. The news that Ryan punched the Dean of Discipline traveled from his ears into his blood stream which started to boil and then settled uncomfortably in his chest.

Adding to his problems with Ryan, he was trying his very best not to let Kirsten down by letting The Newport Group fall to pieces. He wanted to make sure it was up and running when she decided to return to work. Once she returned home, she didn't want to put her under any type of stress. He wanted her homecoming to be enticing not reluctant.

On top of all of these other factors was Jimmy Cooper. He couldn't help but still be annoyed at Jimmy for what happened between them a few weeks ago. He always knew deep down Jimmy was coward, but never would he think he would put a child's well being at risk. Because of him not standing up to Julie, Ryan almost went back to jail.

Now he started bugging him about when Caleb's will was going to be read. He couldn't imagine why he would come all the way to his house to ask him such a question, since financially, he should have been fine. He left Newport with two and a half million dollars in his pocket thanks to Sandy and the restaurant. He didn't have to energy to think too deep into that murky water.

It didn't take long for Sandy to find out that they could read Caleb's will at either Sandy or Kirsten's discretion. He knew this was fully in his hands. He and Kirsten spoke about dealing with Caleb's estate and she clearly didn't want to have anything to do with it.

Mr. Frankel told Sandy that the recently widowed Mrs. Cooper Nichol was really pressuring him about it for some time now. He also told Sandy that he was happy to seal all this business up. Yes, something was definitely going on with Jimmy and Julie, not that it was any secret that Julie married Caleb for his money.

He decided to visit Kirsten and tell her the news in person. He was going to call first, but decided to surprise her. Kirsten loved surprises, plus he knew it would totally piss Charlotte off. He still felt extremely uneasy about her presence in their lives.

_"Honey, what are you doing here?" She was definitely surprised he came to visit her._

_Sandy accepted her embrace and once again wished she was home._

_"Not that it isn't great to see you!" She added in letting him know it was always okay for him to visit._

_"Oh, it's official business I'm afraid. They're reading Caleb's will on Friday." Kirsten broke eye contact and suddenly looked at the floor. "What's wrong?" He could read her like a book._

_She just wanted to be honest with him. "It's just, I've worked so hard to put my dad behind me and..." She hesitated almost afraid to express her next thought. "Do I have' to decide right now? Can I think about it?"_

_"Of course, yeah, whatever you need to get better." He knew it was a little bit aof a dig, but he just hated the fact that she was living there. It was his way of saying that he accepted that as well, as long as she was getting better. Sandy Cohen wasn't a man who held back often so he spoke again. "I got to tell you though, at Suriak, you seemed a lot more positive." He thought that was an obvious statement._

_Apparently so did Kirsten. She didn't disagree with him. "Reality is a little more complicated than they tell you at Suriak."_

He felt the need to challenge her, although a part of him knew he probably shouldn't. He was just so aggravated. "Says who? Charlotte?"

_"I've seen her on the verge of relapse Sandy. She has these stories about how you think you've hit bottom and then you find a new low to sink to."_

_He hated that Charlotte was scaring her. She was suppose to be helping her. "Oh honey, it sounds like she's trying to scare you."_

_"She's just being honest." She knew Sandy wasn't truly accepting of her being there and she really wished he would just drop it. "Sandy?" She was begging him._

_He could never deny her anything. "Alright. Let me know what you want to do about the will."_

_Kirsten smiled, loving that she still had some sort of power over him. "Ok."_

Sandy woke the next day feeling a little bit more positive. Seeing Kirsten always did that to him. She gave him such an energy that only made him wish for probably the millionth time that she was home.

It was only a few hours later when the stress in his life came flushing back. Ryan paid him a visit at his office and asked him something he certainly didn't expect. He never thought Ryan would ask for anything this monumental, but here he was looking so defenseless and weak. Having Marissa live with them was not something he was prepared to answer without the approval of Kirsten. It was her house too, not that she lived there at the present time. All these thoughts were swirling around in his head while Ryan waited for him to respond.

He tried to put himself in Ryan's shoes. If Kirsten was about to move three thousand miles away and they would no longer be able to see each other, he would do anything in his power stop it from happening. That was all Ryan was asking of him.

After hinting to Ryan that it would be okay, he wanted to hear Kirsten's voice. He didn't want her slip any further than the eighty miles she was already away from him.

He loved hearing her voice and the fact that he was going to see her Friday made his day. He and Kirsten were going to get some alone time outside of Suriak, outside of Charlotte's house and in Newport. He couldn't help, but ask. _"Is there any chance you might want to stay, after that?"_ He meant after the will, but he had no idea what he was really asking. Did she want to stay after the will for dinner? Did she want to stay after the will for the night? Did she want to stay with him forever?

Her response was not what he was hoping for_. "Let's see how it goes_."

Friday finally arrived and he couldn't wait to see Kirsten. He knew seeing her would help lift the heavy weight off his shoulders, but it was too late. He knew he had to make some changes for everyone's sake. He never lost his patience with his family and he did it today.

_"Listen I'm going to see your mom in a few hours. Is there anything you want me to pass along?" Sandy said to both his sons before exiting the kitchen._

_"Could you ask her if she's ever coming home?" Seth asked sadly. _

_Sandy tried to rationalize what has been going on in his own head for the past few weeks. "If we push to hard and it doesn't work out, we'll only have ourselves to blame."_

_"Well maybe if we don't push at all, we'll never see her again." Seth snapped._

_As Sandy started walking away, he tuned around, anger spread across his features. "You know the situation is a little too complicated for those snide comments." He felt his blood boil that Seth was questioning his actions. Truthfully, it was because he was questioning them everyday._

Sandy decided to meet Kirsten outside The Newport Group. He didn't want her to walk into that building alone and face all her former employees. He didn't want her to face her father's ghost all alone either. He decided to get there early to make sure she didn't beat him there. He sat on the front steps and waited for her car to pull up.

Once the black Lincoln Town Car pulled in front, he quickly hopped to his feet, his heart lightly thumping in his chest. Once she got out, he wordlessly wrapped his arms around her. He didn't say anything, just reveled in each other's embrace. They rarely needed words, but this time Sandy promised himself not to bring up her staying. He was sticking to his original theory of not pushing her too hard. He hoped it would work.

"Are you ready to go in?" He asked as he pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She smiled reassuring. She slipped her hand into his, willing him to take the lead, which he did so naturally.

Once they made there way outside Caleb's old office, Kirsten tugged on Sandy's hand, signaling for him to stop walking. Once Sandy turned around he noticed the frightened look on her face. "What's the matter?" He asked, suddenly worried that this was going to be a huge set back.

"I don't know." She started. "I just...can you believe I feel terrible that the last thing I said to him were terrible words?"

"Kirsten, your father loved you no matter what you said to him. He even grew fond of me and you hardly ever heard the terrible things we said to each other. He is much more forgiving than either of us ever really gave him credit for." He cupped her face. "He loved you unconditionally. That is one positive thing he had going for him in my book. Don't doubt that now because he is gone." He said softly.

She tried to take in the weight of his words and slowly a smile started to spread across her face. "Thank you."

He moved his hands from her face and grabbed her hand. "Let's get this over with, okay?"

The will reading didn't go what Sandy would have called good. Quite the opposite occurred. Not only was Caleb broke and severely in debt, Jimmy was acting quite mysterious to the news, Julie was in shock and Kirsten ran away from him. She could deal with the financial situation her father managed to put them in, but it was that letter.

Mr. Frankel handed her a letter from Caleb that she was too afraid to open. He chased after her, but her strong-will mind was already made up. She ranted about Charlotte being right and how she should have never have came there today. Sandy wished she didn't mean it.

She was guessing to what Caleb had wrote to her. Sandy again wished she was reading too deep into it and that she was wrong. His father-in-law was a lot of things, but he really didn't believe that Caleb's last parting words to his daughter would be mean ones.

It wasn't until that moment when he watched her car drive off that he fully understood the depth of her insecurities. She truly was lost in her own existing world. He thought he would be enough to pull her through, but now he wasn't so sure.

The level of stress and the weight on his shoulders resumed at full force. There are not too many times in his life where he could pinpoint the feeling of being scared, but this was definitely one of them. At first he let her go, just trying to make sense of what actually happened. After about two hours he started to call her cell phone. One call turned into what felt like a million. He stared at the screen of his cell phone hoping his eyes held the power to have the call connect.

It went to voicemail every single time.

Kirsten sat in the back of the car just having the driver escort her around aimlessly. She thought about the letter from her father and the hurt that the ink spread across the paper. She thought about Sandy and how she just took off on him even though she knew he was clearly worried. She knew he was hurt, but she wanted to take out her shock and surprise out on someone and unfortunately he was the one that was there. That thought only made her feel worse about herself.

Finally she thought about where the night would take her. It wasn't back to Charlotte's and it wasn't back to Sandy who was calling incessantly. She just didn't have the energy to deal with him right at that moment. The only person she felt sorry for right now was herself. It brought her back to how she felt last year when Sandy abandoned her and Carter followed.

Those thoughts brought her to a liquor store somewhere on the outskirts of Newport. The bright florescent lights stung her eyes as she entered the cold store. She knew exactly what she wanted and found the clear liquid. It was like spotting her best friend in a crowd of strangers.

The glass bottle never felt so good and familiar in her hand, but her mind was somewhere else. It kept telling her that she worked so hard. Don't do this. It will be just be for one night, the other side argued. No one will ever know. The release would feel so good. You will know. That is the only person that matters.

Her mind kept flopping back and forth as her body went through the motions of renting a seedy hotel room. Her phone kept ringing, but she really needed to fight this battle on her own. She decided to keep the bottle at a distance, staring at it to find the answers to all her problems.

This went on all night, but questioning whether to drink was not her main concern anymore. She kept wondering how she got to where she was. She was scared. Scared to see how easy it was to slip up. Scared that she didn't take into consideration anyone in her family. Scared that Suriak was officially behind her and she was going to have to face this battle for the rest of her life.

The sun started to rise and Sandy still remained in the same position he was in the entire night. He sat at the table in their bedroom, staring out at the ocean wondering if Kirsten was okay. He held onto his cell wishing it to ring, but something so much better happened.

_"I'm home." Kirsten announced as she walked through their double bedroom doors._

_"Oh thank god you're alright." Sandy said getting up and walking toward her. He kissed her softly, making sure she was really standing there in their bedroom. Kirsten pulled back first and embraced him in a hug._

_"I'm so sorry I scared you. I think I even scared myself." She never knew what it meant to scare yourself straight, but that is how she described what happen to her last night._

_"Where were you?" He delicately asked, hoping for a truthful answer._

_"At a sleazy motel with a bottle of vodka, but I didn't drink."_

_Sandy looked at her wishing she wasn't so honest this time, but relief soon followed._

_"Oh Sandy I'm sick of hiding from my life." She smiled widely hoping he understood what she was saying. _

_"I want to live it again." After last night, she knew she was ready. She could have easily drank herself into an oblivion, but chose not to. She was stronger than she thought and it wasn't because of Suriak and it certainly wasn't because of Charlotte. It was because of her family._

_Sandy understood and made sure she understood that he would always be by her side. "If things get messy, we'll clean them up together."_

_Kirsten pulls the unopened letter from her back pocket and looks at Sandy. "Can't do this without you."_

_"I'm right here."_

Sandy knew Caleb would never be intentionally hurtful to Kirsten, especially in death. Kirsten started to sob uncontrollably when she realized that it was an apology. She felt like she waited forever to hear those words from her father. She didn't even know why she was crying, but it probably had to do with the rollercoaster of emotions she was experiencing on the past twenty-four hours.

Sandy kneeled in front of her to hold her in a more comforting position. Once her breathing became more regular, he pulled back to see her face. "Are you okay?"

She just nodded, taking a few more deep breaths.

"Are you sure there is no apology in there for me?" Sandy tried to make a joke and fortunately it worked. Kirsten smiled a real genuine smile that he felt was missing for months.

Kirsten leaned in and kissed him again, moving into a standing position and pulling Sandy up with her. He broke with kiss and spoke softly. "I can't believe you are really here right now."

He leaned in and kissed her again, opening his mouth and searching for whatever she was willing to offer.

He could feel the tightening in his pants and was slightly embarrassed by this. He felt like he was twenty-two and the prospect of having sex with the most beautiful woman in the world was right on the horizon.

Kirsten felt it too. She knew where this was going and had to stop. She pulled away from the kiss, but leaned into him, resting her forehead against his. "I'm sorry."

Sandy didn't know why she stopped, but maybe it had to do with the emotional state she was in a few minutes earlier. He was completely wrong.

"It's just ..." She struggled with what to say. "I feel really dirty right now and I don't want it to be like that. I need to shower and clean myself up. I promise that we can continue this later."

Sandy recovered easily, knowing that they waited this long, he could wait a few more hours. He would do anything for her now that she was home. Nothing else matter other than that. "Why don't you go shower and get dressed. I will make a food-shopping list and we can go to lunch and hit the grocery store. The boys should be home by the time we get back.

She smiled sweetly, loving how easy he made everything. "I love you Sandy."

"Thank you for coming home." He simply said back.

They spent the day together like they were newlyweds. Sandy kept thinking that Seth was going to have to get used to them like this. They held hands constantly, he opened doors, they kissed when they thought no one was watching and most importantly, they laughed. It was something both us them had missed.

They only had a few bags of groceries to carry in when they arrived back home. Sandy saw the Range Rover in the driveway and knew the boys were home. He was so excited for them to see his surprise.

He walked in the house and saw both of them right in the foyer. Then Kirsten came in behind him and he decided to step aside and witness the magic of their family.

_"Hey guys." Kirsten said softly, almost unsure of herself or what their reactions would be._

_Ryan couldn't keep the huge smile from spreading across his face. Seth just stared in disbelief._

_"Hey." Ryan spoke up first making his way over to her and giving her a hug. She was so glad that was his initial reaction._

_"Good to see you." She said almost choked up._

_"Good to see you." _

_Seth starts to make his way over to her. "Are you really home?" He still didn't believe it._

_"Yeah, and I'm not going anywhere ever again." She said trying to hold back the tears._

_"I missed you." Seth said sincerely._

_"Well I missed you too." Kirsten hugged Seth so tight to make him believe it was true. She was finally home._

_Sandy just watched his family reunited and he felt a sense of pride that was indescribable. "Anyone hungry?" He called trying to resume things as normal._

_Seth immediately followed suit. "I'm starving." _

_"I am." Ryan said. "I could eat."_

_"I could eat too." Kirsten spoke up, playing their game._

_"Alright, let's go eat."_

_"What did you guys get?" Seth said as they all made their way into the kitchen, taking their usual places around the kitchen island. Sandy couldn't help but smile, knowing that now this felt like home._

_Kirsten decided to continue on. "So, your grandpa's broke."_

_"Ryan an Marissa don't go to school anymore." Seth revealed._

_"Uh Jimmy Cooper just sailed out of town again." Ryan countered._

_"I got two months of detention." Seth spoke as Kirsten looked over at him surprised. There was so much to catch up on._

_Sandy decided to throw in his own joke. "That's the great thing about this place. Nothing ever happens."_

They spent the entire day just catching up with one another. Of course not everything was revealed. Sandy informed the boys that Kirsten didn't know of what went on over the summer. He didn't want to ruin these precious moments with such a serious and at the same time devastating conversation. That time would come, but not now. Sandy was enjoying this too much. He was enjoying watching Kirsten in their home taking her place exactly where she left off.

The boys were reluctant to leave the house that night. They knew it was a big deal that their mom was home, but they were teenagers and had plans with Summer and Marissa. Seth didn't want to think too deep into it, but he could tell that neither of his parents minded that they were going out.

They were still sitting in the living room when the boys left. Kirsten watched how happy they were and was relieved that her going to Suriak didn't create any permanent damage to their emotional state.

She was lost in her own thoughts when Sandy let out a huge yawn. She looked over at him and smiled sympathetically. "Sandy, you must be exhausted."

He nodded. "I didn't get much sleep last night." That was an understatement. He didn't sleep at all. He sat in that chair wondering where she was for hours.

"I figured. I'm sorry."

"Having you here negates all of the tiredness in the world."

She got up from her spot on the couch and put her hand out to his. He grabbed it and got off the couch himself. "I'm tired too. Let's go to bed. It's been a long couple of days." Another understatement, Sandy thought.

Sandy wrapped an arm around her waist as they made their way to their bedroom. Neither one of them spoke a word, afraid to mention what was on their minds. What was going to happen behind these doors tonight?

Once they crossed into their room, Sandy closed the door behind them. That wasn't anything unusual. They always slept with the door closed, but Kirsten felt so self-conscious when he did it tonight. He walked past her and toward the bathroom. He pulled off his shirt in one fluid motion, not breaking his stride. When he couldn't feel her presence next to him he stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her.

She had not moved from her spot by the door. She couldn't seem to move her feet. It was her bedroom, but she almost felt like a stranger in it. She didn't know what she was supposed to do, and then he took his shirt off. She hadn't seen him bare chested in months. He definitely was much more toned than the last time she had this privilege. Although it was a turn on, she took it with a grain of salt. She knew he must have done a lot of surfing while she was gone. He always said it cleared his head and she was the one that must have clouded his brain.

Little did she know, the boys played a big part in his surfing habit.

He slowly made his way back over to her, trying to read what she was thinking. "Are you okay?"

She just nodded, her eyes staring over his body.

Sandy pushed her a little further. "You know, just because we are here...like this..." He was trying to explain what was on his mind as well. "...doesn't mean we have to..."

Her eyes finally met his and she smiled again. "I'm so nervous. Isn't that weird?" She moved her hands to his chest, slowly and almost scared. "I mean, we've done this like a million times and right now I feel like it's our first."

Sandy took her hands in his and as always lightened the situation. "If I remember our first time correctly, you definitely were not this timid."

She was going to joke back and say it was because she was drunk, but she didn't know if it was appropriate to joke about alcohol anymore.

He knew what she was going to say, and wanted to wash all those thoughts from her mind. "I'm so happy you're home. I know I keep saying it, but I feel like you really have no idea what it was like here without you."

He leaned in and kissed her softly and she immediately returned the kiss. He played with the hem of her shirt, not sure of his next move.

She pulled back slowly and her eyes met his, excited that this was going to finally happen. "You know, I missed you too. I missed being here. I missed this."

He moved his eyes to where his hands were, wondering if he should make the first bold move. He started to lift her shirt ever so slightly before making eye contact again. "Yes?"

She smiled at his sweetness. "Yes." She loved that he was so concerned about her.

That was the answer he was hoping for and wanted to make sure he heard her right. "Yeah?"

She laughed at this. "Definitely." She said before moving in to kiss him deeply.

Every move was deliberate and every motion was analyzed. It was more special than their first night together.


	4. The Last Waltz

_**The Last Waltz – Original Airdate – September 29, 2005**_

_**Disclaimer – All Italics are Josh's words!**_

_**You guys convinced me to write some smut! I probably will have to change the rating now!**_

Sandy spent the entire night awake while Kirsten lay in his arms. Never in a million years did he think this would feel so good. He thought about this moment and dreamt about how good it was going to be, but nothing compared to this right here and now. He always stared at her when she slept, but tonight he couldn't tear his eyes away. It was almost like if he broke the contact she would suddenly disappear.

She slept soundly. It was like nothing ever changed. She always slept well with his arms wrapped tightly around her. It was secure and comforting. It was something that she missed.

The sun was making an appearance as Sandy finally pulled his eyes away to stare at the clock. Five forty-five and not a wink of sleep. He knew he was going to be exhausted, but also knew sleep wasn't in the cards. He was too excited that Kirsten was finally home.

He decided it was pointless to stare at her any longer. He had to trust that she was home for good. He had to trust that she wanted to be there with them. He slowly removed himself from her and quietly headed to the bathroom. He decided to go surfing.

Normally when he would leave, he would just walk out the door. Nothing was normal about this. It still felt so surreal. When they first started dating, Sandy always used to leave her notes so she would never feel abandoned when he took off in the morning. Twenty-one years of marriage unfortunately dulls those types of gestures.

Once finding a pen and paper, he sat at the table in his bedroom and started to write.

Dear Kirsten,

I just wanted to let you know that I went surfing, but won't be long. I didn't want to wake you because you looked really peaceful, and cute, and sexy as hell. Did I mention how incredible you were last night? I love you with all my heart and will see you a little bit later.

Love,

Sandy

It wasn't long before Kirsten felt a sheer coldness meet her body as she reached for Sandy to cuddle close and warm her up. When she realized he was not in bed with her, she was nothing short of disappointed. She was hoping he would have forgone surfing and stayed in bed with her. How could she complain? It was because of surfing that gave him the body she couldn't keep her hands off of last night. Double edge sword!

As she slowly woke up, she noticed the piece of paper folded neatly on the pillow next to her. She remembered how Sandy always used to do this, and couldn't help but smile at his sweetness. She opened the letter and her smile turned into an enormous grin before her skin started to blush upon the mention of last night. Suddenly it was okay that he went surfing.

She decided to make the most of the day and started to get up as well. There was no point in lying in bed if Sandy wasn't there to keep her company. She decided that she was going to take Dr. Woodruff's advice. She made a list to head to the garden center to pick up some herbs and spices to plant in the backyard.

By the time Sandy arrived home, Kirsten seemed to have gone out. The Range Rover was missing when he got back and suddenly he felt guilty about leaving her on her first morning home. Now his note, which he originally thought was romantic, seemed like a really bad idea.

On the other hand, he knew Kirsten didn't need to be watched over every second of the day. He wanted her to feel comfortable and if Sandy started to hover she would feel very uneasy about her decision to finally come home. She didn't need a babysitter to make sure she wasn't being tempted by her evil friend. She needed support and love. Sandy just had to learn where that line was.

He decided to get dressed for work and head into his office at the house, not willing to leave without seeing her. About an hour later, Sandy was in deep concentration when Kirsten pulled up with all of her supplies. She peeked in the office, but didn't want to disturb Sandy. She felt like they were both walking on eggshells with each other.

Sandy spent the next half hour trying to put together all the numbers for The Newport Group. He wanted to fully explain to Kirsten what type of situation they were in with the company and financially for their family. He finally made his way to find Kirsten when Ryan stopped him in the foyer.

Ryan once again started with his pledge to do anything for Marissa Cooper. Sandy hated that he wanted to go to Newport Union with Marissa. It wasn't about going to public school or the education he would receive. It was about his lack of concentration on his future that pissed him off. Normally he would feel all the weight and stress return once Ryan made such a request, but for some reason it was easier to handle now. Kirsten gave him that strength.

"You need to focus on getting your life back on track." Sandy said sternly with a renewed confidence. "You need to start thinking about college and about SAT's, alright?" For the first time in a long time, he felt positive about how he handled Ryan today. He knew it was because everything was easier with Kirsten around.

With a folder in his hand, he saw Kirsten through the glass doors for the first time today. She had a glow to her facial features and as much as he would like to think he had something to do with that, he knew that wasn't true. She was truly happy to be home.

He watched her throw her gardening gloves down and head to their bedroom. He couldn't help but rush there himself.

_He saw her as he made his way down the hallway to his bedroom, speaking from a distance as so not to scare her. "Hey" _

_Kirsten Looked up and immediately smiled at it. "Hey."_

_"A little morning gardening?" Sandy asked, impressed._

_"Oh I thought in put in an herb garden."_

_"Wow."_

_"Dr. Woodruff says we should confront our fears and mine is my cooking." She said joking around._

_"So's mine." He joked back, loving their morning banter._

_"Well, we'll confront my cooking together." She smiled again, starting to open the buttons on her shirt. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. She felt like she was nineteen years old and she and Sandy were in that stage where they couldn't get enough of each other._

_"And if that doesn't work, I'll buy dinner." He said keeping his eyes focused on her face, but so desperately wanting them to move lower to see her hands working their magic._

_"I'm going to take a shower." She said softly and she whipped her shirt off her upper body, revealing a sexy camisole underneath._

_Sandy couldn't help it. His eyes drifted to her body, watching her adoringly. His eyes quickly moved back to her face, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable._

_Kirsten knew he was watching her and loved that her husband still found her irresistible. She started to walk over to him. "You know, you don't look so clean yourself."_

_"You think?"_

_Kirsten decided to take the initiative this morning since Sandy controlled the situation last night. "No."_

_"Cause I just showered." Sandy played along, even though he desperately wanted to see the rest of her body._

_Kirsten obviously didn't care about his last comment as she wiped her dirty hands over Sandy's forehead, and down his cheeks. Sandy smiled at her antics and Kirsten kissed him passionately._

_"Did I tell you how glad I am your back?" Sandy asked once they broke their kiss._

_"Yeah." She said smiling again. "And I like hearing it."_

He wrapped his arms around her waist as he opened his mouth to search for her tongue. He knew he really didn't need to take a shower, but he wasn't going to pass up having sex with Kirsten in the morning. This was something they rarely did and he couldn't explain his need to be physically connected to her. It ran deep and it was too powerful for words.

She ran her hands through his hair and felt her slip them down to his neck. He could feel the grains of dirt being smudged, but he really didn't care. He moved his lips from hers and sought out her neck.

"Did you get my note?" He asked as he nuzzled himself deeper into her body.

"Incredible huh?" She asked back referring to his note.

He pulled back to look at her. "You didn't think so?" He asked worried that maybe he didn't satisfy her the way he should have.

She laughed again as a look of horror crossed over his features. "I think we could do better." She teased as she rubbed more dirt onto his face.

"You know..." He said slowly grabbing her hands in his. "...You don't have to keep rubbing dirt on me. Like it or not, you and I are getting into the shower together." He said, feeling his pants tighten as images of a wet Kirsten entered his mind.

"I was just making sure." She said innocently.

He didn't want to rush this. He waited for her to make her move and see how she wanted to play this. She stepped back from him and he stood watching with his hands at his side. She lifted her camisole over her head, revealing her toned stomach and a lacy bra. She watched him watching her, her panties getting wet with anticipation.

He waited, but when she made no further move, he decided it was his turn. He undid the buttons on his shirt and pulled it off, revealing his abs and toned chest. He just stared, waiting for her next move.

She kicked off her sneakers and socks and moved her hands to the front of her pants. "You know, I always hated your surfing habit, but it really has done your body good." She unbuttoned, unzipped and slowly lowered her pants in a very seductive manner. She watched his eyes, but her attention was drawn to bulge in his pants.

She raised an eyebrow and it caught his attention. "You make me lose complete control." He said making fun of himself and he lowered his pants. He stepped out of them wondering if he should take off his boxers, but decided this was her game, not his.

She unsnapped her bra, and he waited in anticipation, but she didn't let him have what he wanted. The straps rested on her shoulders as the cups still covered her nipples. He was waiting for her next move, but she did nothing.

"If you don't come over here quickly, I'm not going to be able to control myself and then you are going to get it." He explained how desperate he was.

She walked over to him and slowly pulled her bra down her arms, revealing her bare chest to him. His breath caught in his throat and he stared in amazement. How lucky was he? "Maybe you are the one who is going to get it." She said pressing her body up against his, feeling just how turned on he really was.

She kissed him aggressively and started pushing him to their closet, which led to their bathroom. Sandy started walking backward, not breaking the kiss. His hands roamed her shoulders, moved down her back and squeezed her ass. He wanted her so bad.

Once in their closet, Kirsten slipped her hand into his boxers and gripped his hardness, waiting for him to moan. He always moaned. "Oh God, Kirsten." She heard him say and without relenting, she started to move her hands up and down as quickly as she could.

He couldn't wait for her anymore. He roughly spun her around and started walking her backward through the doorway that led to their enormous bathroom. She used her other hand the pull at the elastic and pull down his boxers.

She wanted to regain control. Suddenly she pulled away from him and gave him a look from a head to toe that was nothing short of complete desperation. She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back further until his feet hit the edge of the toilet bowl. Sandy wasn't sure what she wanted him to do, but he was certainly intrigued. She leaned over to his left and pulled the seat cover down.

"Sit." She ordered. Sandy immediately took a seat, the cold plastic feeling weird against his bare ass. He didn't care though. At this point, if she told him to stand on his head, he would have obliged.

She slowly pulled down her underwear, revealing her most private of areas. She walked over to him and straddled his lap, their groins meeting. Sandy was trying to nudge his way into her, but she wasn't allowing it. "Kirsten, come on." He begged.

Her hips moved slowly and she rubbed herself against him, wanting to give him a little bit of a show first. He moved his lips to her breasts, which were practically in his face, just to distract himself from what was going on to the lower half of his body.

Once Kirsten felt his lips on her, she reached between their bodies and grabbed his hardness and directed him to her entrance. They both moaned loudly and the sudden pressure they both felt, both adjusting to the marvelous feeling. They stayed completely still, just enjoying that feeling of completeness.

Kirsten took him by surprise when she started riding him in a manner in which he was not used to. He couldn't remember the last time they had sex like this. He didn't move, he just let her have her fun with him. He held on to her hips, trying to keep her steady, afraid she might fall off.

He thought he was going to explode, but held on for her sake. He needed to do something to spur her along further. He slowly moved his hands to the front of her and used his thumb to find her bundle full of nerves. With one touch of pressure, she lost all control and her body shook. It wasn't long when he followed her.

As they both came down from their high, Kirsten embraced Sandy as he went limp inside her. Sandy ran his hands through her hair pulling her back so he could look into her eyes. "I love you." He said before kissing her once more.

She pulled back and smiled for what felt like the millionth time since she had been home. "Good, because you are still getting in that shower with me."

Forty-five minutes later, Sandy was about to leave for The Newport Group when he saw Kirsten finishing up in the bathroom.

"I have to run, but I'll see you tonight." he called out to her.

She walked out of the closet toward him as she spoke. "I thought you would like to stay home for lunch."

He hated that she could convince him to do anything. "Okay." He said looking at the clock. "Seeing as it is already ten o'clock, I'll work from home."

He spent the next hour going over everything before he heard the oven door open. He was afraid to think what Kirsten was doing by the oven. Curiosity got the best of him as he entered the kitchen and saw Kirsten take off her oven mitts, heading toward the fridge.

"_Ah, just give me a few minutes, the quiche is almost ready." She said quickly avoiding his questioning eyes._

_Sandy raised his eyebrows. "Quiche? For lunch? Wow, I could get use to this." He said, holding the folder with all the information he needed to present to Kirsten._

_"Is everything ok?" _

_Sandy figured it was better to just get it over with it. "Yeah. Listen, I put this off as long as possible but we really have to make a decision about The Newport Group." _

_Kirsten knew this conversation was inevitable. "Okay. What's the situation?" She knew it couldn't be good. _

_"Well I've done my best to stay on top of things but Caleb's financial troubles have left a huge hole in the company. Pretty soon all that will be left is the name." _

_Kirsten knew Sandy was doing his best and it was her father's doing that put them where they were. "How long before we default on our loans?" _

_He knew she would ask the logical questions. "Six weeks." He thinks about what to say next. He never thought she would just give up so easily. "Its not too late to rescue it. If that's what you want we could sell off some assets, restructure the debt..." _

_"Option two?" She asked, knowing whatever it was, it had to be better. _

_"Sell everything an walk away, I'm behind you either way." He knew he had to add in this next part. "And just so you know, this family is fine financially so don't make this decision thinking that we need your income. We don't." He knew Kirsten would worry if they would be able to provide for Seth and Ryan in a way that they were used to. Well Seth anyway._

Kirsten thought about what Sandy said and he made it easier to make the decision she truly wanted to make. "It's time to let it go."

_"I'll handle everything."_

After lunch Sandy had to go into the office and start making some calls. He needed to close this chapter in their lives and he didn't want it to linger on forever. Kirsten didn't need that and he desperately wanted to get back to practicing law. He hated working a job he didn't know much about.

Sandy's day was interrupted when Julie stopped over to suspiciously ask for a company loan. She claimed that she wanted to buy a house and needed a down payment, but Sandy saw it. There was fearful look on her face when he broke the news that Kirsten would be selling the company.

Sandy couldn't believe that Kirsten wasn't going to return to work. He had a million questions for her, but he doubted that even she would have the answers.

Sandy came home late and hated that the house was completely silent. Their roles were completely reversed. He used to be the one waiting for her to come home every night and he knew how that felt. He dumped his briefcase off in his office and headed toward their bedroom.

When he opened the door, he saw Kirsten lying in bed reading a book. She looked so relaxed and at peace. She looked beautiful.

"Hey." He said lightly, not wanting to startle her.

"Hey."

"You didn't have to wait up." He said although he was glad she did.

"And not return the favor for all the years you did for me?" She asked lightly.

He smiled sheepishly. "How was the your day? Who sent the flowers?" There was a hint of jealousy in Sandy's voice. He had to know who was courting his wife when he knew it wasn't him.

"Charlotte. Actually, I am meeting her for lunch tomorrow."

As much as Sandy was still unsure about that woman, he couldn't care less. Kirsten was home so no one can ruin how good that is for him. "Good." He thought about Julie and decided he was going to be open and honest with her. "So Julie stopped by the office today."

"Really?" She had no idea where this conversation was headed.

"Yeah." Sandy knew Julie certainly did not do the right thing in the past, but she was a good friend to Kirsten. "I think she is in some sort of financial trouble." He got up and headed toward the closet to change out of his suit.

Her eyes couldn't help but follow him. "What did she say?"

"She asked if she could take a loan from The Newport Group, and seemed really upset when I told her we were going to sell the company."

"Oh." This wasn't the first time today she started to question selling the company. It wasn't about wanting to go back to work. It was about cleaning up all her father's messes he left behind. "Well, you're probably right. My father really left her with nothing and it's not like she has any other money to fall back on."

Sandy noticed the sad tone in her voice and felt terrible that he even mentioned it. He walked toward her in his boxers and a soft grey t-shirt. "None of that is your fault, Kirsten."

"I know." She said as if she was trying to convince herself. "I can't believe he hid all of this from us."

Sandy felt a pang of guilt because this was really not such a big secret to Sandy. He knew Caleb was having some financial difficulties, but never to this extent. He stayed quiet, afraid to broach this with her and climbed into bed next to her.

Kirsten turned off the lamp on her nightstand and Sandy soon nestled his body to hers. They fit like a puzzle, the pieces so far apart in the box, but now a perfect match. He kissed her shoulder softly before his lips rested close to her ear. "I'm so proud of you. I know I don't say it enough, but that doesn't mean that I don't feel that way every second of every day."

She felt her eyes water a bit. "Thank you Sandy."

The next day Kirsten's lunch didn't go as well as she expected it to. When Charlotte asked her to be a partner in her upcoming business venture, she seemed almost angry when she declined. Charlotte seemed happy that things were going well in her life with Sandy and her sons, but she always has to throw in her negative comments about her father and their past relationship. It was like she knew Kirsten was extremely sensitive about it.

She was completely distracted for the rest of the day and desperately wanted to take her mind off what was bothering her. She decided she would try to make dinner for Sandy, sending him to the market to give her some alone time.

When Sandy came home with the groceries and the boys left for the evening. Seth was taking Summer to a Harbor dance and Ryan was going to see Marissa. Sandy immediately noticed something upsetting Kirsten and tried to make a joke about them ordering in because it was a lot safer than her cooking.

"_No. No, it's just..." She thinks about how to word her concerns. "I'm doing the right thing closing down The Newport Group, I'm not hiding, right?"_

_"Hiding?" Where was this coming from? He knew this had to do with her lunch with Charlotte. Every time Kirsten saw her, she felt negative about her progress. "No, you're putting the past behind you."_

Kirsten was horrified that Sandy used the same exact words that Charlotte used earlier. She suddenly needed to get out of that kitchen and away from this conversation. She made some excuse about forgetting the oregano and left Sandy in the kitchen dumbfounded.

It was about an hour before Sandy realized Kirsten didn't intend to go to the grocery store. Twenty years of marriage and loving this woman unconditionally told him she went to The Newport Group. He knew she wasn't coming back anytime soon and decided to give her some time. He went and got takeout and stored everything in a picnic basket. He wanted to do something nice to lift her spirits.

When he arrived he saw her sitting in her old office, looking at an old picture of Caleb and herself as a little girl.

_"I didn't know you kept oregano stashed in here." He smiled, letting her know he wasn't mad._

_"Hey."_

_"Hey." He said back. _

_Kirsten looked back to the pile of papers in front of her before picking up one and holding it out to Sandy. Recognize this?"_

_"Sure, it's the Grath building on Ocean."_

_"Built in nineteen twenty two. It was going be torn down and I convinced my father to restore it." She looked back at Sandy. "It was my first project." She smiled reminiscently before looking toward the hallway that led to her father's office. "All those years he was right on the other side of that wall and no matter how hard I worked, I was never going to reach him." She said, tears welling in her eyes._

_Sandy didn't want her to make such a big decision prematurely. "Honey, we can keep the company." He simply said._

"_No, I just needed to say goodbye."_

_Sandy loved this woman so much and was again extremely proud of how brave she was being about walking away from her life as she knew it. Kirsten turned around and leaned over the back of the couch, now feeling bad that she ruined their evening._

_"I guess it's too late for dinner?" She questioned._

_"How do you feel about a picnic?" Sandy said holding up a basket_.

Kirsten loved how sweet her husband always was and over time that never changed. She leaned up to kiss him and when he reciprocated, she smiled through their kiss. "You think of everything, don't you?"

He made his way over to the other side of the room and knelt before the coffee table, emptying the content of the basket. He even thought to bring candlesticks and two candles. Kirsten grabbed two pillows from her couch and placed them on the floor so they would be more comfortable.

They started eating and discussing an array of topics, none of which were too serious. They both knew they had to talk about what happened between them last year, about the boys and what they all went through over the summer.

As usual Sandy started the serious part of the conversation. "So, are you really okay? I know you hate when I say it, but it worries me that Charlotte has this ability to make you feel bad about the decisions you make."

"She's just being honest, Sandy."

"Even if that is the truth, you shouldn't let her make you question your thoughts and decisions. You have your family here to support and encourage you now. I want you to trust me."

Sandy was looking at Kirsten intensely and it was too much for Kirsten to take. She looked down at the carpet and Sandy knew she didn't believe in everything he said. "You don't trust me?" he slowly asked.

"I do." She immediately answered. "It's just that you are always so positive and it's just not that easy to feel that way all the time."

Sandy thought about what she said and knew there was more to it. "Come Kirsten, you can say it. I know it is going to hurt when you do, but we should talk about how you really feel." He said looking down at the plate of food in front of him, his fingers playing with the napkin. "You can say that I failed you and that my words aren't valued as much as they once were."

She felt terrible that he knew this to be true. "Sandy..." She wanted to say he was wrong, but he wasn't.

He stopped her before she had the chance. "You know what eats away at me the most. That I had no idea how you felt. I was so busy wrapped up in helping Rebecca that I didn't even realize that I hurt you. To make matters worse, you carried that hurt around for weeks, even after Rebecca left. I was too busy to recognize your feelings until you had to verbally explain and spell it out for me. And you were right. I did leave you and I sat on that all summer long. I never meant to intentionally hurt you, but I did."

"I was just so afraid that I was going to lose you to her. I hated feeling like that. I got a glimpse of what you dealt with all the time we were living in Newport and next door to Jimmy. At Suriak, I learned that I couldn't numb the pain away with alcohol and I certainly couldn't forget about what you did by spending time with Carter. He helped me forget how much you hurt me and sadly I was craving the attention. It didn't matter who it was from."

Sandy didn't want to know exactly what went on with them, but he knew Kirsten still had her suspicions about Rebecca. "I want you to understand something." He said cupping her face. "I would never ever sleep with another woman. Rebecca or anyone else. You have to believe me."

"Okay." She simply stated. "Now you have to believe that I am strong enough to take whatever it is you have been hiding from me regarding the boys."

Sandy was afraid of opening this can of worms, but knew it was time. He removed his hands from her face and sighed loudly before speaking. He told her what happened after he dropped her off from Suriak. He explained that Seth called from the hospital and what transpired at Trey's apartment. He explained what it was like over the summer with her gone and law enforcement officials constantly making a presence at their house. He told her everything except for what Julie tried to do. He knew that would hurt her beyond belief and she didn't need that.

Once he finished talking and Kirsten remained silent, Sandy immediately thought he said too much. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept it from you, but I was afraid to tell you anything. That should explain why Ryan is currently being home schooled until I figure out a better plan."

"You're sorry?" She asked incredulously. "I'm the one that should be sorry. I'm sorry that you had to deal with this on your own, and sorry that I wasn't there for the boys."

"They boys are fine and I managed to get through it with no long term scars. Well, maybe a little more gray hair, but that is about it." He tried to joke and she knew what that meant.

"Well, I think you look better than ever." She joked back, knowing Sandy didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Well that's good." He said before stealing another kiss from her. "Why don't we clean up here and go home?"

Kirsten nodded and got up from her sitting position. They cleaned up the empty containers and plates wordlessly, working in an old rhythm. He waited for her by the door with the basket in his hands.

"Sandy..." She wanted to tell him she loved him. She wanted to say she was sorry. She wanted to say that he was the most amazing thing in her life.

"I know." He said, understanding her thoughts without speaking a word. "Me too."

--

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_**Please hit that button. Click! Type! Send! Don't make me beg!**_


	5. The Perfect Storm

_**The Perfect Storm – Original Airdate – November 3, 2005**_

_**Disclaimer – All Italics are Josh's words**_

_**Sorry for the wait!**_

The Honeymoon phase was definitely over. Kirsten could feel it and she hated that it went by so quickly. The few weeks she and Sandy spent together upon her return from Suriak reminded her of the days when they first got married. They couldn't keep their hands off each other and every word spoken was with kindness and sincerity. All that was gone now.

Their conversation at The Newport Group brought her back to reality. Her boys went through hell this summer and she wasn't there for any of them. Granted she was going through her own hell, but that wasn't going to comfort her anymore. She needed to focus on being a better person, a better wife and a much better mother.

Over the past week, she threw herself into confronting her fear of cooking. She was constantly online doing research, lingering in the cookbook section of the bookstore and even keeping up with her garden. Even if she didn't feel as productive as she did while operating as the CFO of The Newport Group, it kept her busy and her mind off of wanting to drink.

Her relationship with Sandy was not strained under any circumstance. Not like it was the previous year. Nothing compared to that year of hell. Things were just much more routine which she figured was probably a good thing. She didn't want Sandy to be constantly worried about her anymore. He needed to focus on himself for once and she wanted to help him do that.

Little did they know the upcoming week would prevent anyone in their family from moving forward. In a very fancy smelling kitchen is where Sandy found his wife. Of course dressed in an apron and serving plates of food was an image he would never get used to.

Sandy felt that Kirsten was taking this cooking thing a little bit too far, but he was afraid to approach the subject. He knew she was trying to keep herself busy, but taking one look at his sons' faces, he knew they recognized how bizarre this was as well.

He used to think the image of Kirsten as a housewife was extremely hot, but now it felt like she was hiding from herself a little bit. Besides that, his mind was occupied with other things such as the college fair they were attending tonight. His focus was on Ryan's attendance or lack thereof depending on that damn dean that was intent on making Ryan's life hell.

He made a mental note to let his mind fantasize about his sexy wife in an apron and stiletto heals later on that night.

The shrill ring of the phone interrupted his thoughts as Kirsten looked up worried at him. They were expecting a call from Dr. Kim to make sure it was okay for Ryan to be there tonight. Once the boys left, Sandy explained to Kirsten the personal vendetta Dean Hess has against Ryan. How could they feel like they were still in the honeymoon stage when all this stress was laying on their shoulders?

Sandy left for the day promising to meet Kirsten later on so they could all go over to Harbor together. He found her in their bedroom, putting the finishing touches on getting ready. She was trying to fasten her necklace when he snuck up behind her.

"Let me help you with that." He whispered, startling her a bit.

"Thank you." She said, leaning her weight into him a little bit.

Sandy took in the image of his wife, dressed in business pants and a button down blouse. It had been awhile since he seen this Kirsten. The business-like Kirsten. "You look..." Sandy paused, wondering how to word it.

She turned around to face him, arching her eyebrow wondering what he was going to say.

"...like you." He finished.

She wasn't mad at his comment, but she was taken back by it. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He smiled sheepishly. "It's just that lately it's been all aprons an workout clothes. Believe me, I told you before, the whole housewife thing is extremely hot. I just haven't seen you in business attire in awhile."

"You're lucky you're good with words." She said walking away from him and toward her nightstand.

He immediately followed her. "Just so you know, this is equally hot." He swept her hair away from the nape of her neck and placed soft kisses there while he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Don't get any ideas!" She scolded him, removing his hands from her body. "We have to leave in five minutes."

He would have made a joke about that being plenty of time, but he knew Kirsten was not in the mood to hear it. He chose to safely change the subject. "I can't believe we are attending a college fair. How did we get so old?" He asked rhetorically.

She laughed at him. "Well, seeing the Berkeley representative should help you feel young again."

"I just hope we can convince Seth to go over there."

"Not just Seth!" She exclaimed, hoping that either of her boys would go to Berkeley. Kirsten was just excited about the whole promise of what college had to offer in general.

It wasn't long before advanced academia was presented in front of all the Harbor School seniors. Seth's eyes were wide with anticipation of what his future held. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut were just a few of the places that held his interest. Kirsten could tell Sandy was a little disappointed, but his focus was more on Ryan. Ryan's eyes were wide with anxiety.

_"You ok?" _

_"Yeah. Yeah, fine. Just a little weird being back here. I feel like a fugitive." Ryan hadn't been back at Harbor since he punched the dean._

_Kirsten felt terrible that Ryan felt this way. Ryan overcame so much to be here tonight. Thankfully, Sandy spoke out her thoughts._

_"You have as much right to be here as anyone." Ryan looked at him skeptically, but Sandy ignored him. _

_"So where do you want to start?"_

_"I really don't know." Ryan was unsure about being there, let alone his entire future._

_Sandy took this as the perfect opportunity. "I hear Berkeley's an excellent choice." Ryan smiled at Sandy's antics. "Lots of pretty girls at Berkeley too."_

_Kirsten couldn't help but jump in. "And there's the UC sign."_

_"Sound good?"_

It didn't take long for Sandy to notice the dean taking notice of Ryan's presence and Sandy needed to put that fire out before it erupted into a volcano. The last thing Ryan needed was to have attention drawn to him.

Ryan saw Sandy approach the dean and felt terrible that Sandy was defending him when he was the one that did something wrong. As disastrous as this evening was, Ryan viewed this as one of the best nights of his life. It was one of the those moments that would be embedded in his mind forever.

_"Unless you have a court ordered injunction against my son, recommend you keep your hands off him."_

Sandy referred to him as his son. They always treated him as such, but never did he hear those words spoken out loud. Although he felt that Dean Hess was going to make his life a living hell, he knew no matter where his life took him, he would always be a part of the Cohen family.

That night Kirsten dubbed that as the beginning of the tension between her and Sandy. It wasn't monumental, but it was there. They were on the same side. They both wanted the best for Ryan, but how they went about it were completely different.

"Do you think Ryan is okay?" Kirsten asked, once they were in the privacy of their own bedroom.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Sandy said brushing it off as he went into their closet to change for bed.

Kirsten headed toward the bathroom, walking past Sandy. "You don't seem that concerned about it."

"About what?"

"About what happened with Ryan. Don't tell me you didn't notice the almost look of shock on his face when you called him your son?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm not blind Kirsten." He snapped back. "But I think Ryan is always going to be surprised when someone comes to his side to defend him."

Kirsten slipped out of her pants, her tucked in shirt now hanging over her most private of parts. She noticed Sandy watching her every move and that frustrated her even more. She was seriously concerned and Sandy was looking at her like a piece of meat. "Sandy don't belittle what happened today." She slipped on her pajama pants not giving him the chance to view any part of her. She started unbuttoning her shirt when she continued. "After his look of shock, he looked utterly defeated the rest of the night."

Sandy looked away from her when he noticed she was not in any sort of playful mood. "Well I would feel defeated too if I heard someone say that pursuing my future was a waste of time."

Sandy made his way over to their bed and crawled in, pulling the covers up. Kirsten thought about what he said and Sandy was probably right. He always read Ryan better than her. "I guess you're right." She said making her way to bed as well.

Sandy could tell that Kirsten didn't feel any better about their conversation and was still very worried. As she turned her bedside lamp off, he snuggled up next to her in complete darkness. "Kirsten, we will just have to reassure him that he can do anything. It's our job, no matter how difficult it is."

"I know."

The next day when Kirsten received a phone call from Ryan's tutor requesting her final payment, she wanted to scream at Sandy 'I told you so'. Ryan was so frustrated that he was not going to finish high school. That was absurd to her. What kind of future could he possibly have? It was bad enough that college was questionable at this point.

"We'll talk to him at dinner tonight." Sandy promised once she told him what Ryan had done. "Just give him a little bit of time to digest everything."

Once again Kirsten didn't agree with him and she wanted to scream another big fat 'I told you so' when Ryan didn't show up for dinner. Seth was making matters worse. He was babbling about all types of scenarios of where Ryan could be. He always babbled when he was in trouble and they both scolded him for lying for Ryan earlier that day.

Sandy could tell that Kirsten was pissed. She was clearly upset about Ryan, but ultimately pissed at him. He didn't think her anger was warranted considering there was really nothing he could have done at this point to prevent Ryan from behaving this way.

_"I'm going to try his cell again." Kirsten said, feeling the need to do something._

_At that very moment Ryan walked in and Sandy felt the need to take the reigns, but Seth interrupted him._

_"Dude, where were you? We were about to sound an amber alert."_

_"I'm sorry." Ryan said, clueless to any of their worry or concern._

_Sandy couldn't hold back. "Look, I know you've had a rough twenty four hours and I am a firm believer that every man deserves his space. You can't go off like that!" Sandy said feeling that he got his point across._

_"It won't happen again." Ryan smiled like he was hiding something._

_Without scolding him, Sandy continued. "Listen, lucky for you, I was able to do a little damage control with your tutor. She's agreed to come this weekend to make up for what you missed today."_

_"Oh, well I appreciate that but..." He holds out a piece of paper, unfolding it for Sandy to see._

_"What's this?" Sandy takes it, waiting for the mystery to be revealed._

_"It's a guardian release form. I got a job."_

_Kirsten immediately worried but Sandy stayed completely calm. "Oh."_

_Ryan continued. "On a boat."_

_Sandy's reaction now mirrored how Kirsten felt._

_"You mean like a cruise ship because you don't really seem like the type." It was the first time Seth really spoke, stunned at what was going on around him._

_"This is a joke right? These boats go out for weeks at a time." Sand's blood began to boil as Ryan nodded. "Your not of age!" His voice raising a few decibels._

_"Well that's why I need your signature." He said, not looking Sandy in the eye._

_"So you want to throw away your future so you can go work on a fishing boat?" Sandy asked becoming frustrated. Kirsten was right._

_"Come on, my future is already trashed. I tried it your way. It didn't work." Ryan answered back._

_"You have to keep trying!" Sandy yelled, wanting Ryan to understand the severity of this decision._

_"No I don't." Ryan yelled back. He and Sandy were both so angry they were staring each other down while Seth and Kirsten watched the entire event._

_Ryan continued trying to make Sandy understand. "I have been trying. And I appreciate everything you've done for me, I really do but I need to make my own decisions. I am asking you to let me go."_

_Sandy knew that yelling at Ryan was not the approach to take. People have been raising their voice to him his entire life. Ryan was mature beyond his years, but with maturity comes a sense of settling his mind by himself. Sandy knew no matter what he could have said or did at this moment, he wouldn't be able to change Ryan's stubborn mind. He knew he had to let Ryan come around on his own. He signed the paper and handed it back to Ryan._

_Kirsten couldn't believe that Sandy was giving up so easily on him. Why was he not fighting harder? "Sandy!" _

_"Dad!" Seth couldn't believe it either._

Sandy ate with his head down as Ryan was thrilled that Sandy obliged. Kirsten decided that she couldn't sit there for another second. She picked up her plate, threw it in the sink and continued to her bedroom. She was more than aggravated.

The loud clash of the plate snapped Sandy back to reality. He didn't need that piercing sound to make him aware of how pissed Kirsten was.

Later that night, Sandy found Kirsten with her eyes closed already in bed. He didn't bother speaking in case she was already asleep, but he knew better. Kirsten hardly ever went to bed angry. Once under the covers, her soft voice surprised him.

"Care to explain?"

"I honestly didn't think you were going to give me the chance."

"I am giving you the benefit of a very big doubt."

"Thank you." Sandy was once again reminded of how much Kirsten had changed since Suriak. Normally she would just jump to her own conclusions. She was a much better listener now. "Did you see how defensive he got when I raised my voice?"

"It was hard to miss."

"He has never answered me back like that before." Sandy's feelings were crushed by this. "We can't force him into making the decisions we want him to make."

"You are not making a very good argument." She joked, although she truly didn't agree with this.

"Let's sleep on it and when we get up tomorrow, maybe we will see things differently." He softly kissed her. "Or hopefully Ryan will."

The next morning Kirsten woke up in an empty bed. Sandy must have gone surfing to clear his mind and search for a new solution. She got dressed and waited for him to return. She didn't want to face Ryan without talking to Sandy first.

_"You going to talk to him?" She asked once the pleasantries were exchanged._

_"I'm sticking with our plan."_

_"Your plan, Sandy, he's leaving on a boat tomorrow. This is the wrong time to be stubborn."_

_"Honey, I'm stubborn all the time. We can't force Ryan to make the right choice."_

_"Yeah but we can stop him from making a horrible mistake, from permanently knocking his life off course." She argued._

_"Yeah, it's a course we set for him."_

_She knew he was right. "Would you let Seth do this?" She had to approach this at a different angle._

_"We kind of did."_

_"No. No, that was different. It was summer, he didn't miss school and it was Seth, we knew he'd come back."_

_"You know, in Ryan's position at his age, I can't say I wouldn't be doing the same thing. I left home at seventeen." He turned the argument in yet another direction._

_"Yeah to start your life not throw it away!" She never thought of Sandy leaving home as a negative thing. Probably because it was the best thing that ever happened to her._

_"Ryan doesn't want this. He'll come around, but we got to let him get there on his own."_

_"And what if he doesn't?" She questioned._

Sandy didn't have an answer, but they were interrupted by Marissa, who it turns out, had no idea of Ryan's plan to leave. To embrace the plan Sandy decided to have a going away dinner to support Ryan's decision. Sandy hoped this would be helpful in making him want to stay with a loving family than with a bunch of strangers.

The next morning Ryan felt the need to get his point across to Sandy and Kirsten. He knew that although appearing supportive, it couldn't be further from the truth. They valued education and striving for the very best. He was just tired for striving for so long.

_"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Kirsten asked as one last ditch effort to get him to stay._

_"Well you've beaten the Sandy Cohen mind melt. I was hoping if we gave you the space you need, you'd realize this is not the answer to your problem." He hated that his plan didn't work and maybe Kirsten was right. Maybe if he was going to make childlike decisions, they should treat him like one. It was too late for that._

_"Yeah, maybe my problem doesn't have an answer." He said once again defeated._

_"Sure it does Ryan! If you keep out of trouble until you graduate, at the very least, you'll land at a good community college." Kirsten realistically thought about his future and that sounded much better than what his current plan was._

_Sandy knew it was time to agree with Kirsten. "Yeah, you post a couple of semesters of good work. Then you could transfer to a four year school." Sandy wanted it to seem simple._

_"You come from my family, it's not so easy."_

_"We're your family now." Sandy hated having to explain that to him and he knew how much that hurt Kirsten._

_Ryan knew he had to finally explain how he honestly felt. "I may not be an Atwood anymore but I'm not a Cohen either. I don't know what I am."_

_Kirsten didn't want to give him any sympathy to support his decision. "So your going to figure it out lost at sea?" _

_"Well lost at sea, lost on land, what's the difference right?"_

_Sandy knew it was over. They had to let him go. "Well kid, we can't force you to stay, but this is your home now and the door is always open."_

_Ryan didn't want to witness a teary goodbye. "Thank you. I'm going to head out. See you in a couple weeks." He hugged each of them and didn't turn back._

Kirsten was entirely crushed, but Sandy didn't have to time to dwell on what just happened. He need to help Seth and Summer with their crisis with the dean. He hated this man with a passion for pretty much ruining three years of building Ryan's confidence.

He was at least successful at one thing today. The dean was readmitting Ryan and leaving town for good thanks to Taylor Townsend. He knew he still had a lot of ground to cover with Ryan but it was a start. When Ryan returned in a few weeks, he would tell him the good news and that life isn't so unfair to someone who isn't an Atwood or a Cohen. Life was fair to Ryan!

He hurried home to tell Kirsten the great news. He found her in the kitchen attempting to bake.

"Kirsten?" He yelled, not keeping the excitement out of his voice.

"In here." She called back.

He hurried in and took in the sight of her back in her apron, being domestic all over again. He couldn't help himself as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "The apron thing is hot too!"

She spun around in his arms, looking at him like he was crazy. "How could you possibly be in a good mood?"

"Because things are turning around." He started to lean in to her lips, but Kirsten pulled back.

"What do you mean?"

"I spoke to our friend Dean Hess and it turns out, he is going to let Ryan return to Harbor." Sandy said with a smile on his face.

"How on earth did you convince him to do that?"

"Lying and blackmail. Two things I am not proud of." He backed away from Kirsten a little when she didn't look utterly happy with the news. "Kirsten, I know it's not what we want in the long run, but it is a start. When Ryan comes home in a couple of weeks, we'll talk to him."

"Why would you do all of this for him when he clearly doesn't want to go back to school."

"Ryan doesn't know what he wants." Sandy argued. "He's a smart kid. His stubbornness will wear off and he'll come around."

"When is your stubbornness going to wear off?" She asked, her lips curving a bit to a smile. "We should have made him stay."

"Maybe you're right." Sandy said, thinking for the millionth time that he should have never signed that paper.

The phone rang and broke them from their intense conversation. Kirsten went to answer it as Sandy listened to one side of the conversation.

"Hey Seth. Where are you? What news? Really? You're kidding me right? Well that I didn't see coming. Is he with you now? Take your time. See you tonight." She hung up the phone, hating that she was going to have to face that smug look on Sandy's face when she told him he was right.

"What was that all about?" Sandy had an idea from the smile on her face, that it was about Ryan.

"How is it that you are always right?"

"What do you mean?"

"It really is an annoying quality." She said moving closer to him, ignoring his question.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on?"

"Ryan never got on the boat. He is with Seth now."

And there was the smug smile. "Really?"

"How did you know that this was going to work out?"

"I didn't. It's just easier to be positive."

She embraced him and held him tightly to her. "He is coming home." She whispered.

"He's coming home." He whispered back.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

--

--

_**Please hit that button and make me feel better about writing this fic. I am starting to get a little discouraged and I am only five episodes in!**_


	6. The Swells

With Ryan staying at home with the Cohens, things returned to a semi-normal state

_**Hey Everyone – I am so so so sorry for the delay in updating this story. Season three there is such a severe lack of Kandy that it kills me to pull so much from the very, very little that Josh and Co. gave us. I do hope that you will all continue reading. This episode might be one of my most hated episodes regarding Kandy so it was tough for me to write. I viewed it as the beginning of all their troubles. Again, I beg of you to stick with me through these episodes, because I have so much in me to write for the end of the season. Actually the next couple of episodes, Josh gave me a little bit more!**_

_**KrabbyPatty – I am really glad that by reading this fic, you are able to see scenes a different way. That is one of the main reasons I read people's episode reviews, so I could get more out of what is shown on the surface. I hope to continue that for you.**_

_**Cvmraes – I would love to read whatever take you had on the previous chapter. Sandy deserved a little bit of bashing this season.**_

_**Panzie – Glad you liked it. That means so much coming from you.**_

_**Kikinjuju – I know there is a lack of Kandy lovin', but The Anger Mgmt and The Game Plan, there is more to work with. Stay Tuned!**_

_**Slinn01, uvasoccerchick, bluetoffee, cohenwannabe, kate – Thanks for taking the time to review**_

_**Shikabane-Mai – I will do my best to get to the good stuff of season three**_

_**4everKandy – I will definitely take into consideration about the smut. Everyone has needs, right?**_

_**Robbie-kikka – Thanks for the compliments!**_

_**Iheartsandman – I will push on and hope to receive support from reviewers like you.**_

_**The Swells – Original Airdate – November, 10**__**th**__**, 2005**_

_**Disclaimer – All italics are Josh's words!**_

With Ryan staying at home with the Cohens, things returned to a semi-normal state. Ryan was going back to Harbor thanks to Dean Hess and Taylor Townsend. Seth and Summer were going strong and Sandy and Kirsten were getting into a routine.

Things weren't as exciting as they were when Kirsten first arrived home, but they weren't bad either. Sandy was busy trying to close the door to The Newport Group and Kirsten knew that Seth and Ryan were keeping them on their toes. There just didn't seem to be as much time for just the two of them these days.

Kirsten woke up early the first morning Ryan was supposed to go back to Harbor. The last thing he needed was to be late. She knew that this was Ryan and the chances of that happening were slim. Ryan was always so responsible, but from anyone looking from the outside in, would deem him reckless and irresponsible. If it was Seth, she would probably not have slept all night. For some reason, she worried about him more not because she loved him more, but because he needed to be coddled more. Ryan was an adult and has been acting like one since he was twelve. She often wondered if he would ever get the chance to be a kid again, now with his teenage years slowly coming to a close.

Sandy and Kirsten were already in the kitchen when Seth and Ryan walked in from the pool house. After they both reminded Ryan to stay out of trouble and Seth made some sarcastic comment, they were gone for the day.

It was such an odd sensation to have an empty house. Ever since Kirsten came back from Suriak, Ryan was being home schooled and was always around. Between that and Summer constantly being over, she and Sandy were hardly ever alone. The house to themselves only served to entice Kirsten and stir emotions deep within.

She turned to face Sandy, hoping Sandy's thoughts mirrored her own.

_"Just you and me!" Kirsten exclaimed when Sandy made no move toward her. She felt a little disappointed, wishing he would just pull her into his arms. _

_"How about another cup of coffee?" Sandy innocently suggested._

Another cup of coffee? Kirsten knew that men hit their sexual peak in their twenties and women in their forties, but never had Sandy passed up an opportunity like this. She recovered quickly, not wanting him to sense her disappointment.

_"Don't mind if I do." She said smiling, although she felt sad, wondering if all their magic was gone_.

They made their way outside with their second cup of coffee, enjoying each other's company in a different way. She really thought that staying home was suiting her well. That is why when Sandy mentioned finding a possible buyer for The Newport Group, she wasn't upset at all. It hit a more sensitive nerve with Sandy.

_"Are you ok with that?" Sandy asked, knowing that deep down she was a business woman who loved her job._

_"With what?" She asked, wondering why he was asking that._

_"With walking away from the company that your father built." He hated bringing up Caleb, but he didn't want her to brush any feeling under the carpet. "You spent fifteen years there." He reminded her that she was the one that she really worked hard to makeit what it was._

_"And it took me that long to realise I hated it. "Oh Sandy, I'm ready to let it go." She said trying to convince him and little bit of herself with that statement._ She didn't think she would miss The Newport Group per say, but maybe working in general. But she was enjoying her time at home so much that she really hadn't thought about it too much.

She loved Sandy for being concerned and worrying about her, but she hated when someone questions her ability to make decisions. She told him weeks ago that she was okay with selling the company. Why was he questioning her? She had to keep reminding herself that he only had her best interest in his heart.

After not taking advantage of having the house to themselves, she should be grateful that he cares so much.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked breaking her from her thoughts.

She smiled, loving how well he knew her. "I was just wondering how I got so lucky for you to love me."

He just smiled back, loving these lazy days he spent with Kirsten.

Later that evening, Kirsten started to forget their sex life and started to enjoy who they were as a couple. She decided to make stew since everyone would be home and Summer and Marissa would be coming over for dinner.

She watched as Sandy cut fresh corn for her stew as she sliced bread. She couldn't help but smile at how bizarre all of this really was.

"What are you smiling at?"

"You are supposed to be cutting corn!"

"My eyes are always on you." He said partially joking even though it was true.

"You are going to cut your fingers." She said changing the subject.

"What are you smiling at?" He asked again, loving that smile.

"I am smiling at us. You and me here in the kitchen like this." She said waving her knife between the two of them, gesturing to the fact that they were both cooking.

"Yeah, things have changed, but I think for the better." When she didn't respond, he asked. "You?"

"Yeah." She said with uncertainty, but decided to bring up what was bothering her. "Although I do miss the days when your eyes weren't the only thing on me in the kitchen." She kept her eyes focused on the bread, not daring to look at him, almost embarrassed with what she said.

It didn't take Sandy long to figure out what she meant, and immediately dropped the knife from his hands and made his way over to her.

She heard the knife drop out of his hands, hitting the marble surface in front of him. She knew she wasn't going to have to say much for him to come rushing to her side. She then felt his hands swipe her hair to one side exposing her neck.

Sandy moved his lips toward her delicate skin, leaving a soft gentle kisses, making his way toward her ear. "We were always good in the kitchen, huh?" He whispered.

She felt his warm breath lingering by her ear and she could feel herself slipping into a Sandy induced trance. "Mmm, hmm."

His arms circled her waist and his hands made their way to the hem of her top, searching for the skin beneath. Once he found it, her eyes slipped closed, enjoying the fact that her husband still wanted her. Suddenly her thoughts drifted back to this morning. She grabbed his hand in hers, stopping his upward ascent.

"Now?" She asked as she spun around in his arms. She was a little bit annoyed.

"What's wrong with now?" He asked, feeling a slight twinge in his pants.

"We had all morning with the house to ourselves and you decide to get frisky now?" She said, wondering why he couldn't have been like this earlier when she wanted it.

He knew their moment passed and decided to keep his hands to himself. "I'm sorry." He said. "I guess I wasn't reading you right this morning."

Kirsten felt bad that he was apologizing. "Don't apologize. It's not a big deal."

"It's a big deal to me." He decided to take this in a different direction. "You know, if you ever feel this way and I am too blind to see it, you don't always have to keep your hands to yourself. I promise you, I will never turn you down."

She just laughed at him, knowing she had been a little more reserved since she had been back from Suriak. She knew he must have missed her old ways, but she needed constant reassurance from him and he had been obliging. "Okay."

Once Summer arrived and dropped the bombshell that Marissa chose to spend time with Johnny rather than with them, dinner was more than uncomfortable. Ryan played it off that it didn't bother him, but Kirsten could see the hurt in Ryan's eyes. She felt terrible for him.

Sandy didn't mention it, but she knew he could not have missed the saddened look in Ryan's eyes. Ryan had people jerking him around his entire life, he didn't need that now. He didn't need that from Marissa.

Once she went to bed, Kirsten decided to do some reading waiting for Sandy to join her. He had to make some phone calls to set up this big meeting for tomorrow. She tried to focus on the pages in front of her, but her mind kept drifting back to Ryan. Once Sandy came in, she watched him go into their closet and get changed for bed.

As she rolled over to face his direction, she spoke slowly. "I'm really worried about Ryan."

"Don't be." He said almost immediately, dismissing her thoughts.

She was a little annoyed, wondering why he was being so short with her. "I can't help it." She explained. "We both know Ryan has his share of trust issues. He doesn't need to question his relationship with Marissa. Not at this point in the game." She was referring to the fact that they had been through so much already.

When Sandy made his way back out of the closet and pulled the covers back, he stopped to look at her. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, why?" She asked confused.

He sighed loudly, again acting annoyed. "Because they're in high school. Drama follows high school relationships around." He settled himself between the sheets as he continued. "I really wouldn't think too much into it."

"You don't think Ryan was upset tonight?"

"Yeah, but he'll get over it." When Kirsten didn't say anything, he knew she was getting mad and tried to explain himself better. "He is going to get his heart broken. You and I cannot protect him from that."

"Do you think she is cheating on him?"

Sandy laughed. "I don't know, but think about when you were in high school. I am sure you and Jimmy shared your ups and downs. It's all a part of being an adolescent."

Kirsten hated to admit it, but Sandy was right. When things with Jimmy were off, at the time, she thought it was the end of the world. Now as an adult looking back, that couldn't have been further from the truth. "I just don't want him to get hurt. I don't want him to bottle up his emotions or worse, get into any sort of trouble."

Sandy tuned to face her, wishing that he was lying in bed with his beautiful wife finishing what they started earlier. He knew that that was not in the cards for tonight. "We'll keep an eye on him and be there for him. I think that is all we can do. Okay?"

Kirsten wanted him to share her worry, but she had to settle for what he offered her. "Okay."

The next day they both had their plates full. Sandy was meeting with a man named Kurt Williams and his associate Matt Ramsey. He was hoping that he would be able to sell The Newport Group, pay off all the debts, keep the things he and Kirsten felt were important all in tact and finally rid themselves of what was left of Caleb's so-called legacy.

Kirsten was having Charlotte and Julie over for tea in the afternoon and she was looking forward to the company. The house got lonely when Sandy and the boys weren't there all day to fill it. She still couldn't believe that they were living together. It seemed like such a weird match but she tried not to think too much into it.

After Sandy's meeting and Charlotte and Julie left, the phone rang breaking Kirsten out of her thoughts of what to make for dinner.

"Hello?"

"How's my lady doing all day by herself?"

"I'm fine, but I wasn't by myself. When are you going to stop worrying about me?"

"When I take my final breath." He simply responded.

"You are so dramatic!" She chuckled. She hated that Sandy was constantly worried about her well being when he had a million other things to worry about.

"So, I am going to be home a little later than I anticipated."

"Really?" She couldn't help but keep the disappointment out of her voice. "Did the meeting not go well?"

"It went okay, but something isn't sitting well with me. I want to meet with one of the associates before I come home. It will make me feel better."

"Okay. What did you want for dinner?" That was her biggest concern these days.

"Why don't we order in? We haven't done that in awhile and you could use a break."

"That's fine. Do you want me to make dessert?" She needed to somehow fill her time.

Sandy lowered his voice. "What if you were the dessert?"

She laughed, blushing, not knowing how to respond.

"I'll be home by seven."

"Sounds good."

On Sandy's drive home, he thought about his meeting with Matt, wondering how the hell he was going to bring up to Kirsten what has been plaguing his mind. He was a lawyer and knew it was all about the presentation. He was never nor wanted to be a businessman. He saw how his father-in-law was and although successful, a complete son of a bitch.

He didn't want to hurt Kirsten in any way and he was afraid to make any wrong move. He knew she was a strong woman, but her professional future was so uncertain these days. He didn't know what type of reaction to expect.

When he opened the front door, he was met with the sound of soft classical music and candlelit reflections. When he turned the corner into the kitchen he saw the form of his beautiful wife leaning over the table, setting it just perfectly. He never understood why she did this, but he was not about to complain.

He leaned against the kitchen counter, just pleasantly watching her. "Hey." He said softly not wanting to startle her.

"Hey." She smiled back.

"I could get used to coming home to this."

They were in the middle of dinner, enjoying each other's company when Kirsten mentioned that she was going to help Charlotte and Julie host a fundraiser.

"It's for a good cause and I know Julie and Charlotte need me to draw the crowd." She explained. "Although my dad is gone, the Nichol part of my name still holds a lot of clout in this town."

Sandy was really confused. He never thought this would be something his wife would want to do on numerous levels. First and foremost, he knew she was dreading facing the Newpsies. She hadn't been out socially with any of her "friends" since she had been back from Suriak. Word spread pretty quickly that Kirsten was spending a long summer holiday overseas. This spurred the rumor mill at full speed. Kirsten Cohen was at rehab, Kirsten and Sandy Cohen were separated, Kirsten Cohen ran off with her Parisian lover, Kirsten Cohen had a nervous breakdown and of course Sandy's favorite, Kirsten Cohen couldn't stand her self righteous husband and finally left him.

On a completely different level, this was so unlike Kirsten. The once over-driven, professional tiger of a business woman was now going to spend her days planning Newpsie events? It all made absolutely no sense.

Kirsten picked up on Sandy's quietness. "Do you not want me to do this?" She asked almost afraid of his answer.

Sandy wanted to tell her that he wasn't thrilled about it, but he wouldn't dare. "No, it's fine. You don't have to make this decision according to what I think." She didn't want to tell her he completely disapproved of this. He kept questioning if she was ready to face this judgmental, superficial town.

"Well, what do you think?" She knew there was something he wasn't saying.

He struggled with what to say. "I just don't want you to be forced into anything you don't want to do."

"But I want to do this." She defended. "It's for a good cause and it is the perfect way to ease myself back into society."

Sandy knew that look in her eye. It was pure driven motivation and a spark that spoke volumes of how there was no backing down. "Well then, I think it's great."

"You do?" her eyes softened, glad he was so accepting.

"Yes." Sandy gave in. He knew he had to let her go at some point even if he was scared for her well being. "Besides, what I am about to tell you is going to deserve your disapproval."

"Well..." She leaned and kissed his lips softly. "I just wanted to do that before you don't deserve it anymore."

He laughed at her and leaned back so he could get a good look at his face. He wanted to take all of her nonverbal behavior in, to tell if this was a completely bad idea. The last thing he wanted to do was upset his wife. "My meeting didn't go as I expected it to."

Kirsten thought that was what was worrying Sandy so much. "That's okay honey. I know you have been working hard to sell the business. A buyer will come along and we still have a few weeks before we default on our loans."

"No, Mr. Williams wanted to buy the company. I'm just not so sure I want to sell it to him."

"Okay. You've peaked my interest." She figured he didn't like the man or that maybe the offer was too low. Nothing could have prepared her for what was to come next.

"After I met with him, something didn't sit right. He gave me his word he wouldn't touch the low income housing I fought your father tooth and nail to leave alone. I know I shouldn't worry about that kind of thing, but..."

"No. I remember how hard you fought for that. We should make sure it's left alone."

"Well, my lawyer skills kicked in big time and I could just tell this guy was lying to my face. So after he left and I thought about it I wanted to make sure my instincts were right. So I called his associate. He is this young hot shot kid who basically told me the truth. Williams has no intention of keeping that project if it doesn't make him any money."

"So we won't sell to them. I am sure we will have other options."

"Well there is one option that really peaked my interest. It is something I never really thought about, but Matt put the idea in my head and I think it might work."

"Okay." She waited impatiently for him to continue.

"I was thinking of holding on to the company and having Matt help me run it."

Kirsten was floored and couldn't understand why Sandy would even entertain such an idea. He seemed so lost in his career mostly due to her father. She didn't want to see him do something she knew he would hate.

_"I thought you loathed corporate America." She stated the obvious. _

_"Oh I do! I loathe it all. Greed, republicans, navy suits..." _

_"So why are you considering this?" She asked thinking he was crazy. She desperately didn't want him to run The Newport Group. It made her father a workaholic and Sandy was nothing like her father. _

_"Well after your father died I basically shut down my law practice so I could be with the Newport Group, and this might be a way to make it all mean something. Your work and mine." He knew Kirsten was struggling with this a little bit, but he had to get that point across. He could do a lot of good with that kind of power in his hands._

_"Well, if this is something that you want, you know I'll support you." She wanted to tell him that he was crazy. She wanted to explain that he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Sandy was not a businessman. That is what attracted her to him in the first place. But her supportive words flowed out of her mouth and she did nothing to stop it. Sandy's declaration made a lot of sense, but right now, there was so much to take in. _

_Sandy was still worried about her. He heard the words spoken, but did she mean them? "Well what about you? If my taking over the company threatens any of the progress you've made..." _

_"I'm out of the woods now. Its time for you to get back to making yourself happy."_ That was the honest truth in her mind. She didn't want Sandy to tiptoe around her anymore and if he wanted this, she would do everything in her power to support him. It was what he did all summer long. He could have left her and he didn't. He didn't have to drive to visit her several times a week. He didn't have to do the things that most men would never have put up with.

"Thank you baby." Sandy said pulling her close, kissing her with so much love. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, wanting much more. Sandy pulled back surprised, smiling a little bit. "As much as I want to continue this and I promise we will, I have to go out and meet up with Matt. I told him I would let him know by tonight so he could resign from his old job."

"Oh, okay." Kirsten said disappointed, wondering how many times she must have done this to him. She felt like The Newport Group always pulled her away from her family.

"I won't be long, but when I get back, we will continue what you just started."

She laughed again, although she was hurt a little bit inside. "I love you." She called after him.

"I love you too."

--

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_**Please hit that button. It would really mean something to this writer!**_


	7. The Anger Management

Hey Everyone - I appreciate all of your reviews

_**Hey Everyone - I appreciate all of your reviews. You guys have really made it easier to update since all your feedback was so encouraging. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried my best to incorporate a lot of emotions, plus give you some smut while staying true to where Sandy and Kirsten are at this moment in the season. I hope you all don't find it too far fetched...especially Kirsten's behavior. Let me know what you think!**_

**KrabbyPatty - Hopefully you will find this chapter a little bit better. I hope I played off what Josh gave us this time around**

_**Cheerleader2006 - Thank you for saying I am "one of those authors"**_

_**Robbie-kikka - It was a little tough, but this chapter was easier. I hope it enjoy it as much.**_

_**Panzie - Why are men so unthinking? Hopefully you won't find this chapter as heartbreaking.**_

_**kikinjuju - You asked so I delivered...more Kandy lovin'**_

_**4everKandy - Thanks for the review!**_

_**uvasoccerchick93 - I'm glad you pointed out Kirsten's changes. I really want that to come across since it was noticeable on the show.**_

_**Bluetoffee - There are some things I would love to change like making Kirsten tell him she thought Sandy running the Newport Group was a bad idea, but I have to stay true to the script. I know exactly how you feel.**_

_**Stripscrabble - I really wished we got more from Season three too.**_

_**Chicaanglaise - The next couple of chapters I have more to work with, although it is going to get angsty. Enjoy this one for now. **_

_**The Anger Management - Original Airdate - November 17, 2005**_

_**Disclaimer: All Italics are Josh's words!**_

Monday morning came way too fast for Sandy. It was his first day at The Newport Group acting as CEO, having no clue what that really meant. He wondered if Kirsten ever felt this nervous about her job. He went surfing earlier this morning to try and work out some of the stress he felt. When he got home Kirsten was already missing from their bedroom. He was hoping to work some of his stress out on her. That would be a sure way to calm his nerves. He knew once she was out of the domain of their bedroom, her mind was probably occupied with the fundraiser she was throwing.

He couldn't decide on a tie and figured to get her opinion. She spent most of the beginning of their relationship dressing him, plus she knew exactly what type of person employees wanted to look at. He made his way into the kitchen and saw her back facing him.

She curled her hair.

That was the first thing he noticed. His eyes moved from her hair, over her shoulders, down her back and to her waist. He would have kept descending to her ass, but unfortunately she was sitting. He looked back down at his hands and remembered why he searched her out in the first place.

He startled her at first. He could tell because she immediately spun around as he called his affectionate pet name for her. He noticed it, but continued forward about his ties. Which color would give what message? Only Kirsten would know this sort of thing.

Once she heard him rambling about the perfect tie, she could sense he was extremely nervous. Sandy never cared what type of impression he gave off to other people. She couldn't remember the last time he acted like this. She supposed it was when Sandy met her parents for the first time. That was as far back as she could remember.

She decided to distract him with her own worry of whether to serve alcohol at the event she was hosting. It wasn't that she was worried about her own temptation. She knew she was passed being afraid to be around any type of liquor. She was worried about it conflicting with the cause.

After that was settled, she noticed Sandy was still staring at his reflection in the built in wall wine cooler. He looked so unsure of himself and knew he needed her right now. She dropped her pen and made her way close to him. She rested her hands on his shoulders, leaning close to his ear, pressing her chest up against his back.

"You have nothing to worry about. They are going to love you." She said slowly to get her point across.

"Thanks." He replied, still staring at his own image.

"How could they not?"

He laughed; blushing a little when she wrapped her arms around him and held him closer to her. When he still didn't respond, she decided to ease his mind in another way. "Besides, even if they hate you, there is a benefit."

He spun around to face her, wondering where she was going with this conversation. Again, her beauty mesmerized him. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"We can still continue our sexcapades in that office building." She laughed, a little embarrassed thinking about all the times they acted inappropriately behind those doors.

He acted quickly and spun her around, pinning her against the glass. "You better watch what you say Mrs. Cohen. I have every thought in my mind to drag you back upstairs right now." He kissed her passionately. "Especially when you look like that." She let out a laugh, before he kissed her again. "I can be late since I am in charge." He continued, before she finally pushed him off of her.

"Well unfortunately I can't be late." She sadly said before she heard the groan from behind them. Seth and Ryan once again caught them in a compromising position. "And you shouldn't be either."

"Okay." He said with a pout, before joining his boys in the kitchen.

Kirsten again began focusing on her event, asking the boys to help her set up on Sunday. She needed all the help she could get and hoped she could rely on her family. Ryan obliged, but Seth made some sort of excuse. She knew Sandy would be busy, but he plays his hand as well. She knew Seth's sudden change in eagerness to help did not come on his own. And that is why she loved her husband so much. She knew he didn't understand these types of charity events and how elaborate they were, but he did understand that it was important to her and that was all that mattered.

Sandy's day started off much better than he hoped for. His lawyer skills really paid off and meeting with all his employees was a breeze. If he thought he was stressed this morning over his tie of choice, he was sadly mistaken. Matt dropped a bombshell on his shoulders. He had to fire nine people in order to make things work for them to be ultimately successful.

He, Sandy Cohen, had to fire nine people?

This was not what he wanted or had expected to do. He was not Caleb Nichol. He had feelings. Whoever these people were, they had families and personal lives he knew nothing about. How was he supposed to play this role? It seemed impossible. He told Matt to hold off, wanting to make sure there was nothing more he could do on his end.

Kirsten spent her day at the club, feeling productive, organized and focused. She felt like her old self minus the alcohol of course. She could do this. She could wiggle her way back into society, as long as things went perfectly. She knew the guests would gossip about her until they saw her fully functioning in her old crowd again. She also knew next week they would be talking about something else.

The next morning Sandy decided to go surfing, hoping that the fresh air, salt water and exercise will help clear his mind. He could do this, he kept telling himself. He was a smart man and more importantly a caring man. As he was loading up the car to come home and hopefully spend some time with Kirsten, he came to a decision. He would meet with the accountant himself and come to terms with what just had to be done.

Kirsten was on the phone organizing some details of the event when Sandy came through the door. She planned her day earlier, allowing herself some Kirsten-time. She definitely needed it. Once she hung up, she turned her attention to Sandy.

_"You left early this morning." She said, wishing that they would have had time to finish what they started in the kitchen the previous morning. _

_"Yeah, you know nothing like a little dawn patrol to clear your head." He said after receiving a kiss from Kirsten. _

_"Is everything ok?" She noticed he looked a little stressed out. "I was so busy yesterday, I forgot to ask how your first day went." _

_"Oh it's good. It's good. Its, you know, just a lot." He said, knowing he sounded like a scared puppy, not knowing which direction to walk in. He wasn't sure what he wanted to tell Kirsten at this point. He didn't want to tell her he felt like the possibility of failure was not that far off. _

_"Well you can always come to me with questions." She said as she walked away from him and into their closet._

_He didn't know why this comment bothered him, but it did. It just struck the wrong nerve. Did she think he couldn't handle the pressure? Did she think she was smarter than he was? Deep down, he knew she just wanted to help and meant no malice, but it made him feel inadequate. "Thanks, you go have your Kirsten time."_

Sandy spent the day meeting with their accountant and was certain to make things more bearable for him. It turned out if he made some major adjustments, he would only have to fire four people. Of course he would have to take a major hit personally by cutting his salary by thirty five percent and they would not be able fail on one single project. They needed to get off the ground with no margin for error.

He knew he had to speak to Kirsten about his salary. He knew she wouldn't care since money was never really important to her anyway.

Kirsten's day was a little more peculiar or at least the way Julie was acting was. She seemed a little off since she moved in with Charlotte, but the two of them seemed to form a genuine friendship. She figured if Julie wanted to talk about it, she would come to her.

It wasn't until she was signing the liability agreement for the Yacht Club that she noticed a look of worry on Julie's face. Maybe she was just as nervous about making her way back into the good graces of the Newpsies. Kirsten heard from Taryn about how Jimmy broke her heart once again and although Julie had her share in the embarrassing spotlight, Kirsten knew this particular thing really hurt her.

As she lay in bed that night, she thought about Julie but her mind quickly drifted to her husband. She missed him emotionally and wanted him physically. She stared blankly at the ceiling, wishing he was in bed with her. He stirred her emotions the other morning in the kitchen and she had been thinking about finishing what they started. She hated knowing that his mind was not there though. He seemed so pre-occupied since his first day and she couldn't help but feel lonely.

She just wanted him to kiss her. She thought of his full lips and how they knew exactly when to part. She thought of how he used his tongue to lick her bottom lip, loving when he gently sucked it teasingly.

She couldn't help but move her index finger to her lips, wishing it were his tongue.

She wished she felt his hands move from her waist and up to her chest, cupping her breast. She loved how he had a special way of massaging it while his lips moved to her neck.

She, once again, couldn't help but move her own hand to her breast, squeezing it softly, wishing it was his. She didn't want to stop and think about what she was doing or where she was going with this because it felt so good. Her head pushed back into the soft pillows enjoying the sensation of what should be her husband's hands.

She thought about what his next move would be, and it was usually his hard groin pushing into hers. That thought alone made her panties just a little bit damp. She thought about the sound of his grunts and groans and that spurred even more moisture below the sheets she was already under.

She thought about how his hands would normally roam back down toward her waist and then slide upwards underneath whatever top she had on that day. He never wasted anytime pulling the cup of her bra down, playfully pinching her nipple.

She kept her mind concentrated on her sexy husband as her hand followed his normal path.

He then would rotate his hips to feel more of her beneath him through their remaining clothes. She bent her legs wishing these games were not only in her mind right now.

She couldn't wait any longer to feel something physical beneath the sheets. One hand remained on her nipple as the other disappeared underneath the sheets and into her pajama pants. She always loved the way he played with her folds. He knew every inch of her and although some would find that boring, he managed to give her exactly what she wanted.

His hands always played on the outside, sliding up on down her slit. She couldn't help but lift her ass off the bed urging him to take it further, even though she was in control right now.

Sandy never teased her for too long because she always begged him for what she wanted and he always obliged. She slowly entered one finger inside, breathing deeply, wishing it were one of his thicker ones.

Just as she was about to pulsate it in and out and create a rhythm, she heard the handle to the bedroom door turn, her eyes opening and her head whipping in that direction. She slowly removed her finger, not wanting to make too much movement under the covers. She didn't want Sandy to suspect what she was doing.

"Hey." He said. "You're up late." He barely looked up at her as he was setting down his briefcase and taking off his shoes.

Kirsten should have figured he wouldn't have noticed her ragged breathing or her flushed skin. "Yeah, I was waiting for you."

"Good, I'm glad you are still up." He said.

"You are?" She asked, hoping that his was going to make what she was fantasizing about a reality.

"Yeah, I need to discuss something with you."

"Oh." She said disappointed.

He took a seat at the edge of the bed, noticing how pink her skin was tinted. "Are you feeling okay?"

She wanted to tell him she wanted him. She wanted to tell him what she was doing right before he came in, but she could never. Only once had Sandy witnessed such an act, and it was for his 35th birthday. He kept bringing it up and telling her how much he loved it, which made her self conscious about the whole thing.

"I'm fine. Is everything okay?" She felt like she asked him that a lot lately.

He brushed a strand of her blond hair off of her sweaty forehead, not saying about the glistening beads that were left there. "Yeah, everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know that I..." He struggled with how to word the next part. "...I need to make some adjustments to our income to make things work they way I want them to at The Newport Group."

"Okay." She said not understanding his worry. She saw that he was clearly upset as his eyes averted to the floor. "Sandy?" She called for his attention back to her. She cupped his face to force him to look at her. "It's okay. It's not like we have any major bills to worry about. The house, our cars and the boys' tuition at Harbor are all paid off. I'm sure we will be okay."

He loved that she never made a big deal out of money. It reminded him of how she was when they bought their first house. She didn't care how big or small it was even though he was a nervous wreck about it. "Thanks." He said to her reassuring words. "Go get some sleep. I have some work to do tonight in my office."

She made a face, wishing he would come to bed.

"Don't make me feel worse than I do already with your puppy dog eyes." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I want to finish up tonight so tomorrow I can be all yours tomorrow with no distractions."

Now she felt bad about giving him the eyes. "Okay." She smiled.

The morning of the event came and Sandy was actually looking forward to going to one of these things. He barely saw Kirsten this week and looked forward to spending some time with her, even if he had to share her with an entire room filled with people.

She left early for the club and Sandy was enjoying a quiet morning with the paper and his coffee. It was nice not to have to think about work for once. Just when he thought today was going to be stress free, Ryan came in needing to talk to him.

Sandy was so proud of Ryan at that moment. He was learning to use his head and not his fists. This was a huge step for Ryan and Sandy was glad he was seeking for help. He explained to Ryan that this situation was more about this kid that Ryan himself. He wanted to go further to get his point across, but his cell rang, interrupting his normally long speech.

Once he hung up with Matt, his concentration was now on the four employees sitting in his office waiting to be fired. He couldn't believe he was going to have to do this today with no mental preparation for how he was going to destroy these people's lives.

He looked back up and saw Ryan waiting for him to continue his speech, but his mind was no longer there.

"I'm sorry Ryan, but I have to go into the office."

"It's fine." Ryan answered immediately, feeling sorry that he bothered Sandy in the first place. He started to make his way out of the room, but Sandy stopped him.

"Ryan! I really am sorry that I have to go. I used to hate when Kirsten did this kind of thing to me. You cannot even begin to imagine the kinds of situations she used leave me in." He regretfully smiled, knowing he could make those types of jokes with Ryan. He was much more accepting of their sex life than Seth.

Ryan smiled back, knowing this was probably true. Kirsten was a completely different person when he first moved in with them. He always smiled to let Sandy know it was okay.

Later that evening, Kirsten was in her bedroom getting ready, thinking about the upcoming event. Her mind drifted back to today when she waited for Sandy to show up at the club to help with the set up. Ryan and Seth arrived alone and although she was grateful for their help, she really wished Sandy were there. Ryan mentioned that he had to go into the office, but she had no idea why.

Her thoughts then drifted to Julie. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on with her, but she was certain that something was up. She knew Julie was just as worried as she was about the event, but Julie always appeared outwardly confident. Never did she falter in that area. Not until Kirsten asked her if everything was going to be perfect tonight. Instead of brushing it off, she kept her eyes averted, nodded and walked away. Yes, something was definitely not right with her.

She finished with her makeup and zipped up her dress, hoping Sandy would be the one unzipping it. That is, if he made it tonight. He better, she thought. He wouldn't miss this. He was aware of how important this was to her. She looked at her reflection, pleased at what she saw back. She hadn't dressed up like this in months and it felt good.

She grabbed her purse and was about to exit her bedroom when the phone rang. She jumped on it, a little too eagerly, hoping it was the one person that she hoped.

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby. I'm glad I caught you. I figured you might have left by now." She could hear the stress in his voice.

"I'm was just walking out. Please don't tell me that you're not coming." She demanded.

"I'll be there. I was just calling to tell you that I wasn't going to be able take you over there myself."

"It's fine, but I will see you there right?" She asked, uncertain if he was going to make it.

"I wouldn't miss it."

Once at the club, the room looked great, the crowd was generous and the drinks were flowing. Kirsten kept her hands clutched together, feeling awkward that she didn't have a glass in her hand. She kept telling herself to keep her mind distracted.

Julie took care of that because she still was acting off, which caught Kirsten's attention immediately. Things only became more odd as the night progressed. Julie suddenly changed the charity fund account directly to the cause, which she had no idea was in the plans for this evening. On top of that, when she asked Charlotte about it, she looked dazed, shocked and confused. If that wasn't enough, Kirsten noticed a very tense conversation between the two of them that definitely had a back-story to it.

She was about to find one of them and find out what was going on, when she spotted Sandy walking in the room. Their eyes met for a split second and she could tell something was not right with him. With his shoulders slumped, he shuffled his feet toward her before someone took her attention away. The Maitree D' needed her assistance with the bill. Before she followed him, she looked back to Sandy and he was gone. She would have to find him afterwards.

Sandy spotted her immediately. She always had the ability to brighten any room and eyes were always drawn in her direction. She looked radiant. He hadn't seen her dressed like this in some time and a part of him wanted to forget all his troubles, hold her in his arms and just enjoy the fact that he was the lucky man who stole her heart.

Unfortunately, he didn't know if that was possible. He was still really distraught over what he had to do today.

It felt like a while later when she spotted Sandy once again. Guests started filtering out and she saw him in the corner of the room, sitting there patiently for her. He looked exhausted. She started making her way over to him and he noticed immediately, getting up from his seat to greet her.

_"Hey." _

_"Hey." She smiled at him, hoping to lift his spirits. _

_"Have a seat." He motioned to the chair. "So the event was a success, congratulations!"_

_She smiled while sitting. "Thank you." Sandy sighed loudly and took this as her cue to bring up his behavior. "So, you want to tell me what's going on?"_

_"What do you mean?" He didn't want to burden her with his troubles. Isn't that why she quit The Newport Group in the first place?_

_She shook her head, knowing what he was trying to do. "Don't shut me out Sandy."_

_He hesitated, but knew that look on her face. He couldn't hide from her any longer, nor did he want to. "I fired four people today." He looked down at the table disappointed in himself, ashamed of what he revealed. "I'm not sure I'm the guy for this job at all."_

_Kirsten knew that this was a part of business that Sandy would just have to deal with. She knew it wasn't his fault and wanted to explain that to him in best way she could. "I'm glad you're upset."_

_"Good pep talk." He sarcastically replied._

_She knew that didn't come out right. "It means you care. Do you think my father gave a second thought to anyone he fired?" She asked, thinking she made a good enough point._

_"Exactly. He was successful!" Sandy said, backing up his statement that maybe this is not the best career path for him._

Kirsten needed to point something out that he was completely forgetting. "And his ego almost destroyed the company." She needed to say more to convince him. "If I had to choose between you and my father to run things, I would choose you every time." She smiled at him, knowing that what she said was a huge deal in their relationship. She always defended her father to Sandy, but at that moment, it was the honest truth. She smiled, knowing what a big moment this was for the two of them.

_Sandy heard the words, but felt them in his heart too. '"Thank you baby." She rendered him speechless._

_Kirsten felt the need to add in the fact that she wanted him to talk to her about these types of thing. "I'm not fragile. You don't have to protect me."_

_"I forget you are your father's daughter." He said knowing how strong of a man Caleb would be remembered as._

_"No, I'm your wife." She said reassuring him, before leaning in to kiss him. God, she missed him so much._

_Sandy pulled back to take in her entire image, asking for the millionth time how he ever got this lucky "Good answer!" He joked, before leaning in to kiss her again. _

He parted his lips, but didn't make the next move of sliding his tongue into her mouth. He didn't want to kiss to become too heated. He pulled back again, staring into her eyes, before taking a look around the room. The wait staff was cleaning up, but the band was still playing a slow mellow tune. He knew it was ridiculous, but figured he would ask anyway. "You want to dance?"

"Now? Here?"

"Yes, here and now."

She looked around the room, wondering if it would be appropriate the be dancing while others around them worked. When she turned back to Sandy, she couldn't deny his request. At that moment, he needed her to say yes, plus she was craving his attention for some time now. "I'd love to."

He led her out to the dance floor and pulled her close to him, using his right hand to feel the skin exposed at the small of her back, while the other grasped her hand pulling it close to his heart. This was always their most comfortable dance stance, loving how they both felt in each other's arms.

Kirsten kept her eyes locked on his, knowing his mind was still on what happened today. "Sandy?" She called, using her hand to push his chin up toward her. "Look at me."

His eyes met hers and his heart melted. He could see the love in her eyes and that suddenly made things a little bit better.

"It's going to be okay. I know in my heart that you did everything possible to avoid firing those people. I promise everyday won't be this hard."

"I know." He leaned in and kissed her, pulling her tighter to him. When he pulled back, he felt more desperate for her. "I love you for saying that."

She smiled, leaning closer to him, starting to feel the stiffening in his pants. "Why don't we go home so you can show me?"

His eyebrows shot up at her boldness. "Well that's the best offer I had all day."

"It better be."

Once they arrived home, a car ride that took entirely too long for both of them, they headed straight for their bedroom. They spotted Ryan and Marissa sitting outside by the fire, grateful that no one was in the house at the moment.

Kirsten entered the room first, knowing her husband was following closely behind her. As he went to grab the handle of the door, pulling it shut, he saw Kirsten spin around coming toward him at full speed.

She wanted him so badly and couldn't help but think about how she spent the last couple of nights in her bedroom. She wrapped her arms around him, pushing her entire body hard against his. Sandy stumbled back a little, taken back by Kirsten's behavior. He continued kissing her, regaining his stance and pushing them forward as he shut the door behind him. She once again pushed into him as he leaned back against the door.

Her hands ran through his mop of black hair and his found their way down to her ass, urging his way closer to her. When she felt his hardness between her legs, she broke the kiss and moaned out loud. He loved when she was like this, but knew there was something he still had to do.

"Maybe we should shut the blinds?" he asked, referring to the fact that Ryan and Marissa could see in if they turned around.

"I don't think I can wait." She said before pressing her lips against his. There was this sense of urgency that she was feeling from deep within that she couldn't explain. It was almost as if they stopped, they would not have the opportunity to continue.

He felt it too. He didn't think twice before he started walking her backwards toward their closet. Their kiss still deep and their hands still roaming, they slammed their closet door shut once they were safely inside. With her still in his arms, he lowered his hands to the zipper of her dress. He tugged at it desperately, quite the opposite of slowly lowering it to tease her. "I want you so bad." He said in frustration.

Once the dress pooled at the floor, Sandy slammed her back into the door. She squealed at the coldness of the wood against her temperate body.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worried he was too aggressive. When she nodded and started pulling his tie from his neck, he kept taking this further. He slipped his hand past her pantyhose and into her panties, searching for his moist prize. Having trouble, he ripped the pantyhose right off her legs, not caring in the least. Kirsten in return ripped his shirt open, not bothering with unbuttoning each button.

His lips attacked her neck and he nestled his face between her breasts. She needed to see him fully and started tugging at his belt. His hands assisted her mission, opening the button and lowering his zipper as his tongue lapped at her delicate skin. His hands once again moved toward her core, but she pushed them away. "Don't!"

He pulled back, asking with his eyes, why?

"I need you inside me." She said using her hands to pull on his hardness.

As always, Sandy obliged lifting her off the ground, his tip at her entrance and his hands cupping her ass.

"Please?" She begged.

He pushed her back against the door, this time moaning at the pressure, paying no mind to the coldness against her skin. He set their rhythm, but suddenly with the noise they were making from the slamming against the door, they were now joined with another type of banging. They both heard it, but ignored it the first time.

When Kirsten heard it again, she tensed up, looking at Sandy for an answer to what it was.

And again, that same sound.

"Shh..." Kirsten was telling Sandy to stop for a second.

He began kissing her neck, trying to maintain what they had. "It's Ryan."

"What?"

"It the punching bag." Sandy knew that sound, spending many hours himself pounding into the hard leather. Now he just wanted to finish pounding into his wife. He could tell Kirsten was distracted and wanted to put her mind at ease. "At least we know he can't hear us." Sandy joked.

It wasn't long before he continued their pace and they eventually came down from their highs. "God, I really missed that." She said as he placed her gently back down on the floor, breathing heavily himself. He kissed her once more wanting to savor this moment. "I love you Kirsten. I just want you to know that. What you said tonight meant so much more to me than I think you'll ever know."

"I'm sorry for never letting you know how I felt before tonight. I'm the one that should be sorry."

She headed toward the bathroom to get ready for bed and he put on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. "After that performance, you don't have to be sorry for anything."

She came out of the bathroom giving him a look that only he could read. She smiled shyly afterward as she started to grab something to wear to bed. "I'm going to close the blinds. Wait a minute and come to bed as you are." He said, looking at her incredible body that she maintained after all these years.

"Okay." How could she say no to that? She knew if she went to bed naked, their night was only beginning.

--

--

_**Please help my self-esteem with just a click of your mouse and a moment of your time?**_


	8. The Game Plan

So, I am the world's worst person ever

_**So, I am the world's worst person ever. I complain about the lack of reviews and then bam! You guys bless me with kind words and sweet thoughtfulness and how do I repay you? I wait over a month to update! I am so, so sorry! Please don't feel that I don't appreciate them because I do. Each and every word typed means the world to me. I cannot apologize enough, but thanks for continuing on! I am really going to make an honest effort to update more often. I know what you are all thinking - "I'll believe it when I see it", but at least know I am trying!**_

_**The only thing I have going for me to get back in your good graces is that this chapter is long!**_

_**SexyEm - Thank you for taking the time to review. I should have had them think it was Ryan banging on the door. Oh Well.**_

_**KandyLove - Thanks for the compliments. I hated the lack of Kandy in Season 3 too. Too much angst for my liking.**_

_**Megan - Thanks for loving all aspects of the story - smut and sweetness. I love being quoted so thanks for that as well.**_

_**4EverKandy - A lot of you guys wished Sandy walked in on her. Maybe I will think about that in the future.**_

_**Bluetoffee - I don't think the show expressed how important those words really were to him. Thanks for recognizing it!**_

_**Cheerleader2006 - Thank you for the enormous compliments especially when I don't feel like my smut is up to par.**_

_**Cohenwannabe - Thanks so much for the kind words!**_

_**Robbie-kikka - yes, they do need each other on many, many levels**_

_**JennylovesKandy - You probably enjoyed this past chapter more than the rest because of the smut, but hope you continue to read forward.**_

_**KrabbyPatty - First, the long review makes my day! I am glad that you see more through my words than when you just watch the actual episode. I try to incorporate things I feel and think as I watched for the first time. You made total sense with what you said and I am trying to set up for what is to come in later chapters. I will definitely consider bringing up some of that in later chapters as well. Thanks for the quotes.**_

_**Panzie - Delicious? I kind of like that!**_

_**kikinjuju - I really wanted to play on Sandy's emotions of firing people. Glad you got that part of this chapter.**_

_**uvasoccerchick93 - I remember getting so angry for Sandy making her lonely through the entire season too.**_

_**Chicaanglaise - Glad you enjoyed my visions. I love when people point things out to me about the show that I didn't initially catch the first few times around.**_

_**OCKandy - Much, much needed Kandy!**_

_**Tiffany - If I have anything to do with you taking out your DVDs, I consider it a successful day.**_

_**On with it…..**_

After feeling like she gained some semblance of her old life back, Kristen's focus drifted from her husband to her professional life. She couldn't help it. She was a businesswoman and knew it was something that ran through her veins. She wished she could be more like her mother, but her father's ambitions were always flooding her brain.

Settling herself back into the community and becoming a full time Newpsie could have been an easy transition for someone who liked that sort of thing. Kirsten never prided herself on planning fabulous dinner parties, brunching, shopping and spa hopping. Not that she didn't enjoy those activities, because she did. Her previous life just didn't revolve around them. She always worked hard and treated herself to those things so the novelty never wore off.

Now with all this time on her hands, she was becoming frustrated with the lack of challenge in her life. The challenge of drinking was something she was beyond. She needed something more than cooking. She needed a career, but knew that was not going to be found in the walls of The Newport Group. She was done with that place, plus working with Sandy everyday didn't appeal to her. She needed something of her own.

She knew he would understand that. She has been turning down jobs and activities that involved Sandy since they were in college. He wanted her to join the theatre group at Berkeley so they would share a common interest, but she declined. He wanted her to get a job doing secretarial work for extra money at the PD's office when they were first starting out. She decided to work at the local art gallery. She always told him that the fact that they had separate interests was what was going to keep their relationship interesting. And so far, it hasn't been uninteresting.

But now she was at a crossroads. What was she going to do now? She knew she had to talk to Sandy about it. If she learned anything from Suriak, it was to express every feeling and emotion to come around her so it never built into something she couldn't handle.

Her thoughts carried with her until she went downstairs to see Sandy off to work. She saw him in deep concentration, reminded once again how great the past couple of nights have been. Sandy was not as preoccupied with work and was focusing more on not only her but their family.

_She didn't know how to start the conversation. "Sandy, I'm going crazy." She blurted out. She needed to work on that._

_"What?" He looked at her concerned._

_Again, she couldn't put it into exact words. "It's the sifting, the kneading, the measuring. I can't take it anymore. I need to get out of the kitchen." Her eyes spoke volumes, pleading with him to understand._

_"Honey..." He began._

_She continued. "It's not the cooking I hate, it's the quiet." She really didn't mind cooking, but she needed more._

_Sandy turned this into a different direction, which was fine with Kirsten. He didn't see her as wanting a new career as much as what their lives were going to be like in a few months. "Oh we're going to have to get use to a quiet house."_

_Kirsten knew where he was going with this and it only made her more sad. "I know. The boys started filling out their college forms today."_

_Sandy wanted to offer comfort, not only to her but to himself as well. He was going to be devastated in a few months. "Well look on the upside. Seth will be right up the road at Berkeley." He smiles, loving that Seth going to Berkeley will enable him and Kirsten to revisit their roots._

_Kirsten knew Sandy had a one track mind. "Oh I wouldn't be so sure. Remember before Ryan came, Seth was dead set on going to a boarding school on the east coast. He wants out of California."_

_"That was years ago. He was a kid."_

_"Sandy, Seth has never said that he wants to go to Berkeley."_

_"But he never said he didn't!" Sandy thought he made a good point. He didn't want to hear that there was another possibility. If he thought about it too much something in the center of his heart would begin to hurt. He kissed Kirsten quickly, wanting to leave. "Try not to go too stir crazy."_

_She watched as he exited the kitchen, leaving her all alone. "I'll try."_

She looked around the kitchen and realized that this is what life will really be like. The boys away, Sandy at work and she standing here with nothing to do. She needed to change this and fast. She decided to lift her spirits and give Julie a call. She had been trying to get in touch with Charlotte for a week now, but she somehow managed to disappear.

"Hey Julie, it's Kirsten."

"Hi Kiki. what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something today. Maybe grab lunch at the club?"

Julie paused and Kirsten could tell her mind was somewhere else. "Julie?"

"Why don't you come here? You haven't seen my new place yet and I could use the company as well."

"An hour sound good?"

Kirsten felt better now that she had something to do.

Once Sandy arrived at his office, his first order of business was to unpack some personal stuff that he brought with him a few weeks ago. There were pictures of his family, some Yankee memorabilia that has been with him since his New York days and office gifts Kirsten got him over the years that decorated his PD's office.

He came across a picture of Seth when he was about three years old from their Berkeley days. As he stared at this picture, the mind started to race. He thought about his conversation with Kirsten this morning. He couldn't help but wish for Seth to follow into their footsteps and attend Berkeley. His mind then drifted to the idea of getting to back there and visiting the campus and reuniting with old friends, which he would be thrilled to do. But then his mind took a ninety degree turn off that path of thinking.

What if Kirsten was right? What if Seth really wanted to head as far away from them as possible? The East Coast? That was crazy. Then and only then, did Sandy get a glimpse of how his own mother must have felt when he left New York and headed to California.

As if Seth sensed his father's thoughts, Sandy heard a knock on the door and saw him standing there. Could he really let Seth go? Wasn't it a mother's responsibility to feel like this? Sandy should be proud of whatever mature decision Seth made.

But he couldn't. It wasn't in his nature not to nudge.

Of course Sandy was proud, especially when Seth told him what his guidance counselor had to say. Of course he would have plenty of options. There wasn't a doubt in his mind about that. But Sandy couldn't help but mention Berkeley and express how glad he was that it was still on the table of consideration.

Once Seth left he decided to get Paul Glass on the phone. Words weren't going to do it this time. He knew he had to show him the types of friendships he could build even as years pass.

"Paul? Hi, it's Sandy."

"Sandy Cohen! It's good to hear from you."

"How are you? I feel like it has been forever."

"That's because it probably has. Things are good. My sons are applying to colleges and it has been bringing back a lot of memories for me and I figured I would give you a call."

"Is that the only reason?" Paul figured there had to me more. Sandy knew he worked at Berkeley.

"I'm trying to show Seth how great Berkeley is, but I don't think my words are enough."

"Ah-ha. You still view it like that because you don't live here anymore." Paul knew Sandy viewed Berkeley as a magical place that turned his life around. Not many people experience that, but they spent too many nights stoned discussing it. "How's Kirsten?"

"She's great." Sandy couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Beautiful as ever."

"Still using that line huh?"

"No reason not to." Sandy joked back. "How are you dealing with everything?" Sandy's voice turned serious. Paul lost his wife to an ugly cancer battle a few years back and Sandy knew it had to still hurt.

"I'm doing okay. Still taking it one day at a time." The four of them used to be good friends and Paul knew Sandy understood the depth of his loss. He decided to change the subject though. "So what can I do to help convince your boys about Berkeley? Tell them that they are going to meet a blonde that is going to turn their world upside down and have them eating out of the palm of her hand?"

"Very funny." Sandy thought for a moment before proposing an idea. "Why don't you come down here for dinner? I'll send you a ticket and we can relive our Berkeley days."

"I'm not smoking pot. I'm too old for that."

"No, no!" Sandy couldn't help but laugh. "Just come to dinner and let the boys see how wonderful it is to meet new people and maintain old friendships. Kirsten will cook, you and I can deliver the one-two punch. It will be perfect.

"Kirsten cooking does not sound perfect." Sandy didn't tell Paul about the horror that was his life the past couple of months which led Kirsten to learn how to cook.

"Believe it or not, Kirsten cooks now." He simply stated.

"I don't believe it. You do remember how many times she set off our smoke alarms, right?"

"Even more reason for you to come."

"Let me give you a ring tomorrow and see if I can clear my schedule. Okay?"

"Sounds good. Take care of yourself Paul."

"You too Sandy."

With that, Sandy hung up and felt better. Now all he had to do is nonchalantly notify his family. Yeah, they were going to see right through this.

Meeting with Julie did not make Kirsten feel any better that day. It only served to confuse her even more so. Kirsten went over there to release some bad vibes, hoping Julie would be able to help her sort through how she had been feeling. What Kirsten didn't expect was for Julie to be so distracted that she didn't even want to listen to her.

Kristen was starting to feel like she had to find herself.

It wasn't until the doorbell rang that Kirsten realized her problems might not be the only thing on the front burner these days. A real estate woman that Kirsten recognized was badgering Julie about something and it did not look good. She couldn't make out what the woman said, but knew something was up when Julie made a very sad attempt to cover it up.

She definitely needed to get to the bottom of this and figured it had something to do with Charlotte's sudden disappearance. Julie brushed that off like it wasn't a big deal, but how could Charlotte not contact her about leaving? All the pieces didn't fit in the puzzle.

Sandy spent the evening working and knew Kirsten would be in bed by the time he got home. He hated not seeing her at night, but knew that only hard work would get his business off the ground. Without thinking any further, he called his wife.

"Hey you." He responded to her frustrated hello.

"I knew this was going to be you calling with the bad news that you weren't coming home to me tonight."

"Well when you say it like that, it makes me feel terrible."

"Good." She said half joking and half serious.

"I'm sorry baby. I just have a lot of stuff to do and you know how I hate to let things linger."

"Okay." She said, but wanted to throw a zing in. "You know the less you are home the less chance we get to spend time together."

Sandy knew what she was saying and now wished he was home with her. "Believe me, I would be there if I could." He thought about the offer and couldn't resist. "How do you want to spend time together?" He asked.

If there was one game Kirsten knew how to play, it was the hard to get game. "Well since you are there and I am here, I guess you will never know."

He laughed. She was such a tease. "I think I know." He could talk in circles with her forever.

"You do realize if we keep talking you are never going to come home."

"Okay. I'm going, but thanks for putting naughty thoughts into my head."

"That's my job!" She joked back.

The next morning Kirsten woke up to an empty bed, but she couldn't dwell on it. She had to get dressed and meet Julie for a cardio bar class. She only agreed to go because she wanted to attempt to get Julie to open up to her. When she came out of the bathroom, Sandy surprised her. He was already dressed in his suit and was on his cell phone. She figured he was out surfing or roaming around the house in his bathrobe. Times have changed.

_"Oh man, it'll be great to see you." Sandy was on the phone which surprised her even more. _

_"Yeah that's right tomorrow night. "I'll see you then, alright Paul, bye."_

_She figured it was some sort of business deal he was working on, but she decided to ask anyway. "Who was that?"_

_"Our old friend, Paul Glass." Sandy answered like it wasn't a big deal that he was speaking to him. Kirsten immediately knew this had to do with Berkeley and the fact that Seth was not interested in it at all._

_"Paul Glass as in Paul Glass from Berkeley?" It wasn't like her to let it slide. She knew what he was up to and couldn't let the opportunity pass to let him know it._

_"Well not from anymore. At. He's working there now."_

_Kirsten shot him a look that couldn't be misinterpreted._

_"What?" Sandy defended. "He called me." He lied. "Besides Seth came by the office yesterday to talk colleges." He didn't want to mention deep in his heart how he truly thought that went. "He seems interested in Cal." Sandy continued lying for his own benefit more than anyone else's._

_Kirsten knew there was no way that Seth wanted to stay in California, let alone attend a place where both his parents went. She needed to remind him of that. "As long as you don't pressure him!"_

_Sandy didn't want to be the type of father that puts any pressure on his son. He and Kirsten both knew what that was like from their own parents. "No, no pressure. A nudge, a father is allowed to nudge."_

_Kirsten felt the need to draw the line for Sandy. She didn't want him to get his hopes up. "Nudging is allowed but anymore than that and I will confiscate your Cal sweatshirt." She threatened, knowing how much he loved that thing._

_"You wouldn't dare!" He flirted a little._

_"Try me!" She smiled, flirting back a little. She took one look at her cell phone and all thoughts of their flirting leading somewhere went out the window. "Oh I got to go. I'm going to try to make a Cardio Bar class."_

_"Cardio Bar is crawling with Newpsies." Sandy couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. It wasn't like post rehab Kirsten spent her free time with the judgmental minds of Newport. Sandy started to become concerned. "How bored are you?"_

_Kirsten sensed the worry in his voice which she actually did appreciate, but decided to be honest and put him at ease. "Well I thought I'd go because Julie loves it and I thought it might cheer her up. Lately she seems not herself."_

_Sandy felt a little bit better, but knew their conversation from yesterday still plagued her mind. "Is that a bad thing?"_

_"I'm serious Sandy. She's keeping something from me."_

_"Well when it comes to Julie Cooper, sometimes it's better not knowing." Sandy couldn't help but think back to that awful footage he saw of Julie screwing Lance on her porn tape._

"Well..." Kirsten knew what Sandy was referring too and if she wasn't so worried she would have laughed. Sandy had tried countless times to get her to watch it because it was so appalling in his eyes, but she just couldn't do it.

Sandy still wasn't a hundred percent convinced that she was okay. She moved toward her and placed his hands on her hips, stopping her from moving any further out the door. "I know right now you are worried about Julie, but I don't want you to think that I am not worried about you."

Kirsten stopped for a second, listening to what he said. "Thank you, but I don't want you spending your days worrying about me and the simple little fact that sometimes I feel bored."

"Come on Kirsten, I think we both know it's a little more than that."

"What do you mean?" She asked, wondering if he still could read her.

He moved his hands from her hips and cupped face, wanting to grasp her full attention. He wanted her to feel his sincerity. "You can do anything you want. You know that right?"

She just looked at him skeptically, but he continued anyway.

"You can be successful at anything you put your mind to. I just don't want you to doubt yourself and your abilities. You are the most diligent and driven person I know. I don't want you to think you can't hurdle certain obstacles anymore because you failed at something once in your life." He was referring to her drinking and the fact that alcohol proved to blur her perfection.

He could still get at her deepest feelings and it stirred some deep feeling within her. She started to feel the tears pool at her eyes. There was a huge part of her that was afraid to do anything professional with her life. She didn't want to fail herself again.

As one tear slipped over her eyelid, Sandy caught it with her thumb. "Hurdling your alcoholism was no small feat. I don't ever want you to minimize that success. I am so proud of you and want to support any new endeavor you embark on." He leaned in a slowly pecked her lips. "Okay?"

She was speechless. She felt an enormous lump in her throat. Almost afraid to speak, she just nodded and that was all he needed.

Once they left the confines of their bedroom, Kirsten's day was filled with answers to all those questions she had been having. When Julie didn't show up at class, Kirsten went to her condo, and was surprised to see a U-Haul truck parked in front.

Not only was Julie taking off, but she was driving the truck herself. Curiosity got the best of Kirsten and she followed Julie all the way to a place that she had never been. Julie was leaving her condo and moving into a trailer park. Obviously money was a major issue with her and it probably had to do with Charlotte's disappearance.

Kirsten only hoped that Sandy would be home tonight so she could talk to him about it. Maybe he could shed some light on the situation. All those years he spent in the public defenders office masterminded the ability to see things from a completely different angle.

No such luck!

She didn't see Sandy until the next morning when he came into the kitchen and mentioned that Paul Glass was coming to dinner that night. Kirsten immediately noticed the disappointment and worried glances Seth was throwing in Ryan's direction. How could Sandy not notice it?

Once the boys left for school, she decided to make him aware of what he was doing.

"I waited up for you last night, but I guess you got home late." She started the conversation.

"Yeah, I wanted to take care of as much as possible so I could be home at a decent time tonight. I don't want Paul to be alone with my wife." He joked around.

"Sandy!" She scolded. "Paul is nothing short of a gentleman. You and I both know that."

"Yes, but I have heard him say things about you in the past that I rather not repeat."

Too late. Kirsten wasn't going to let it go. "What things?"

"Things that people just say when you and I first started dating. It's nothing." Sandy could feel his cheeks turning red and the blood rushed to his face.

"Go on!"

"Fine!" He said knowing she wasn't going to let it go. "When you and I started dating, all the guys I lived with always talked about how hot you were and how I was going to somehow screw the whole thing up."

She couldn't help but laugh and that.

"It's not funny now. It might have been then, but you are my wife now. It's just different."

"Well I'm certainly glad you didn't screw it up." She couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Me either." He wanted to change the subject and make her blush. "So was there any particular reason you waited up for me last night?"

Kirsten knew that is what he would initially think. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about Julie, but I have something else I want to discuss."

"Does it involve you and me and our bedroom?"

She just gave him a look, trying to express that she wanted to broach something serious.

"Does it involve you and me naked?"

"Sandy! I'm trying to be serious here."

He laughed at her frustration. "Sorry."

"Do you remember the summer after you graduated when we first lived together?"

"Of course. How could I ever forget living in the back of that mail truck? We shared the night of seven times in that truck."

"I can't believe you still mention that." Kirsten knew it was a special night, but Sandy always managed to beam with pride about being able to have sex that many times in one night.

"That is a very proud moment in my life."

"Please!" She joked, but turned serious again. "Do you remember why you were miserable for a big chunk of that summer?" She asked.

Sandy racked his brain, trying to understand what she was getting at.

"You spent two full months agonizing over the fact that you disappointed your mother. She was so upset that you were staying in California and that you were planning on going to Berkeley Law in the fall. You felt like you failed her."

"How do you remember that?"

"Because that was the same summer my father was royally pissed at me for not coming home that summer to intern at The Newport Group. We lived in that mail truck because he refused to pay for my living expenses."

"Well, the joke was on him because if he knew you shacked up with me all summer, he would have paid anything to avoid it."

"Probably!" She chuckled at the amount of orgasms her father would have been horrified to learn that she had by Sandy's late night performances.

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

"As much fun as we had that summer, our spirits were always dampened by the disapproval of our parents. I don't want Seth to ever feel like that. I want him to live his life the way he chooses. I don't want to choose a path for him because we think it is best for him. We would be no better than our parents. Make peace with the fact that Seth doesn't want to go to Berkeley. Okay?"

He knew she had a point and didn't really look at it from that point of view. "Okay."

Kirsten felt like she got her point across and felt like Sandy did the same the day before. Sandy really gave her the encouragement she needed. She decided that in the right environment she could really excel. That was why she organized a lunch with Julie.

Little did she know she would start that lunch with the a thousand hopes and leave with her heart broken in utter confusion. How naive was she? How stupid and gullible had she become? All those months of sharing her feelings and opening up only made her weak and vulnerable. She couldn't help but feel nothing short of pathetic.

How could Julie and Charlotte undermine her like this? How could they use her and the name she was trying to rebuild in this society to scam money to selfishly benefit themselves? She knew Charlotte had to be a big part of this because she only met Julie through her, but even this was an all time low for Julie.

She was supposed to be her friend. She was going to let her be her business partner. How could all of this happen?

She did the only thing that made sense.

"Sandy Cohen?" He answered his phone.

"Sandy?" She sounded desperate.

"Yeah. Baby, what's the matter?" He could tell that she was on the verge of completely breaking down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know. Did you know you married a very unintelligent woman? Did you know that I have the ability to be extremely stupid? Because I am!" She was raising her voice.

"Honey, where are you?"

"I'm on my way home. Can you please leave work early and meet me there?"

He didn't think twice about it. Whenever Kirsten was this upset, he knew it was for a very good reason. "I'm on my way."

When he pulled up to their home, the Rover was already in the driveway. He hurried through the front door and made his way to the kitchen. There was a glass filled to the top with a clear liquid on the granite countertop which he immediately noticed. Then his eyes drifted to his wife who was currently pacing back and forth. When she heard him enter, she looked up at him with red rimmed eyelids.

His worry increased and the glass forgotten as he scooped her in his arms. "Tell me what's wrong," he said softly, but almost demanding. He wanted to know. He needed to know.

She buried her head in his suit jacket and the tears just flowed. "I'm sorry. I'm stronger than this." She said more to herself than to him.

He pulled back to look at her. "Stronger than what?"

She started telling Sandy about her lunch meeting with Julie. She started with yesterday and following her around to a trailer park, then leading into Charlotte and then the scam they tried to pull. The more she spoke about it, the angrier she was becoming. Sandy just listened as he drew his own conclusions. He knew what Julie did was wrong, but he really didn't think Kirsten was seeing the entire picture.

When she finished venting, she wanted to hear what he thought. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming. I am usually such a good judge of character and now two people who I thought cared about me are worth nothing to me."

Sandy kept one hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly as she started to calm down. "I still think one of them cares for you very much."

She looked up at him, not understanding so he continued. "You know I am not one to stick up for Julie Cooper, but think about where her life is right now. She is living in a trailer park. Even for Julie, that is an all time low. She is there because you were more important to her."

Kirsten knew Sandy could make her feel better. She smiled up at him slightly, still mad about the entire situation. She was mostly mad at herself. "You're probably right." She moved away from him and toward the glass and took a huge gulp. Sandy knew it wasn't alcohol now, but he couldn't help but wonder if a day would come where that wouldn't be his first instinctive thought.

"Paul is going to be here soon. I am sure a visit from him will cheer you up." He said trying to take her mind off of this.

"Reliving my Berkeley days always cheers me up." She said before making her way upstairs to fix herself up a bit.

Once Paul arrived, Kirsten again reminded Sandy to leave Seth alone about attending Berkeley. Like always, Sandy obliged her wishes and kept the conversation away from the future and admissions and focused more on reminiscing about the past.

"You know, after that Halloween party, I never heard the end of the perfect Kirsten Nichol." Paul teased Sandy.

"I couldn't help it. She was perfect." He reached over for her hand. "She is perfect." He corrected.

"Dad, please!" Seth interrupted.

"You should be so lucky!" He shot back at his son.

Paul continued to tease, but from a different angle. "Don't worry Sandy, you weren't the only one who couldn't stop talking about your significant other." He looked at Kirsten as he spoke.

Kirsten's face suddenly became flushed knowing that he was going to spill the beans. He was married to her college roommate for almost twenty years. Of course she told him everything. "Don't you dare Paul!" She threatened.

Paul chuckled and this certainly drew the attention of the boys. "I'm sorry, but you always had my buddy here hanging on by a string." He patted Sandy on the back as he spoke. "I think it's time he knew the truth."

Seth, not missing a beat, contributed to the conversation. "Yeah, Mom. I think it is time we all found out the truth."

Kirsten knew she was trapped and it was nice to laugh about something so trivial in the greater scheme of things. "Fine Paul, go ahead. Sell me out. I knew Emily told you everything anyway."

"Are you ready man?" He asked Sandy and could detect a little bit of nervousness. "Believe me, you are going to love this."

"Okay" He reluctantly replied, his eyes focused on Kirsten.

Paul started telling this to Seth and Ryan although he knew Sandy was really his captive audience. "Your father spent the majority of his senior year trying to impress your mom. He would do everything in his power to gain her attention, make sure she fell in love with him. He would meet her after classes, take her out to eat, court her in every sense of the word. And from the outside looking in, we all thought he was crazy. See, your mom played this game where she acted like she didn't care which drove my man here insane. Little did he know, she spent her days worrying about his feelings just as much as he worried about hers."

Sandy kept his eyes focused on Kirsten, a smile spreading across his face. "I knew it."

She laughed out loud at his sophomoric ways. "Well I hope now you know it, considering we have been married for this long!"

"So dad, it turns out, you were the man, huh?" Seth joked.

"I'm always THE man, son."

"Please!" Kirsten interrupted.

After this fun conversation, there was a series of interruptions. Summer showed up to talk to Seth, Kirsten received a message from Julie and Marissa took Ryan away from the table. The only two left were Sandy and Paul.

"So how long did you know this information?" Sandy asked. "And please don't say since our senior year! You know the agony that woman put me through and it would pain me to know you were watching it the entire time enjoying my squeamishness."

Now it was Paul's turn to laugh but before he responded, Kirsten came back to the table to politely excuse herself for the evening.

"Is everything okay?" Sandy asked, wondering what would take her away from this moment.

"Yeah, I'll be back in a half an hour."

Sandy watched her leave and Paul admired the way Sandy kept his eyes focused on her. "I knew how she felt about you years after you guys were together. I don't think I could have watched you suffer that long."

"Well that's good to know!"

"She used to brag about your sex life."

"What?" Sandy almost spit out his drink, wondering what prompted him to say such a thing.

"That is how I found out in the first place. Kirsten used to tell all the girls how great you were in bed. And let me tell you man, women talk in much more detail about sex than we ever did. It's appalling really!"

"I don't believe it."

"Believe it! I even know about the night of seven times."

"Well now I believe it."

"You're never going to let her live this down?"

"Never!" Sandy exclaimed back.

Once Paul left, Sandy had a conversation with Seth that he would never forget. At that moment he realized that Seth was no longer a kid. He was growing into a well-adjusted man, who had no fear opening up to his father. This was something that made him very proud, since he, himself was incapable of that sort of expression at Seth's age.

He didn't want to go to Berkeley. He wanted to rebut. He wanted to tell him that he should considered it, but he remembered what Kirsten said and decided to tell him what he was feeling in his heart at that very moment.

He was immensely proud of his son.

He didn't hear Kirsten come home, but she was just there watching them have their moment.

"Seth's applying to Brown." Sandy declared proudly. As Kirsten expressed her approval, it hit Sandy like a ton of bricks. His son was leaving them and suddenly something inside began to hurt.

The feeling of abandonment began as Seth went to his room to be with his girlfriend as Kirsten swept into his arms right on cue.

"_So it seems that we are going to be empty nesters." Kirsten stated the obvious as she affectionately rubbed his arms up and down to create more of symbolic warmth. She knew he was hurting inside_

"_True." He moved his hands to her waist, appreciating the affection. "What do you think about getting an apartment in Providence?" _

_Kirsten leaned in to hug him and she chuckled lightly at his antics. She swayed with him as he repeated, "Ooh, Providence", trying to make it sound more enticing._

At that moment he was just enjoying having Kirsten there in his arms, not realizing there might be something bigger going on in her head. "Where did you go?" He asked lightly pecking her lips, his hands still on her hips.

"I thought about what you said and you were right about Julie. She left a message and I just wanted to clear the air with her. I wanted to feel better about the whole thing." She said leaning in and kissing his lips. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For always knowing what to say."

He spun her around and pushed her up against a nearby wall. He kissed her deeply, forcing his tongue into her mouth, searching for more. When he pulled back, she looked at him surprised at his abruptiveness. "What was that for?"

"You are in for it tonight!" he said forcefully kissing her again. He pressed his slowly growing erection against her groin, causing her to moan softly.

When he moved his lips to her neck, he whispered. "I cannot believe you led me to believe, for months, that I really never had a chance with you." She stopped speaking as his lips found her ear lobe and sucked gently at it.

She giggled at the sensation he was causing, but also at his words.

"As if that's not bad enough, that whole time you were bragging to your friends about our sex life!"

His hands started to roam from her waist upwards, searching for her breast. His last statement sobered her from his touches. "What?"

His hands massaged her breast and he continued to whisper in her ear. "Don't try and deny it."

"What exactly did Paul tell you when I was gone?" She asked, knowing Sandy was enjoying this, much to her dismay.

She slowly moved his hands toward the button of her pants, fumbling to open it without their groins losing contact. "Kirsten…" He moaned. "You really don't seem like the bragging type."

Once his hand slid under the waistline of her pants, she moaned a little louder, trying to play along with this conversation.

She wanted to deny it. After twenty years, she still wanted to play to part of the girl who was hard to get, but how could she. His right hand was submerged in a wet panties and his left was pushing her ass toward him so their groins could feel a greater friction. "Well, there was so much to brag about."

"Like the night of seven times?" He joked, revealing he knew she talked about it as much as he did.

"Think you got it in you?" She challenged, wishing they would one day relive that fantasy.

"You better believe I am going to try!"

She gently pushed him off of her, wanting to escape to their bedroom. As his hands came out of her pants, she grabbed it and led the way. Half way down the hall she stopped walking and spun around to face him. "I love you Sandy."

He paused, taking in every piece of her. His eyes wandered over her flushed face, her hard nipples, her unbuttoned pants and her lustful eyes as he sincerely spoke. "I love you too."

--

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_**Please review although sometimes I know I don't always deserve it**_.


	9. The Disconnect

WOW - Thank you guys so much for all your great reviews

_**WOW - Thank you guys so much for all your great reviews. I am overwhelmed with your kindness and appreciate the time each and every one of you took out to send them my way. I really hope your generosity continues. This next chapter went on and on, so I hope you don't get bored with its length!**_

_**4EverKandy - I only wish that Josh filled that Season 3 void because it would have been so much better!**_

_**KandyLove – Glad you saw the humor in the last chapter**_

_**KrabbyPatty - As you know, I am always concerned about the rating of my stories, so I have been taking it easy on the smut. I can only hope that people find my writing sexy without it. I love how you saw it that way. Brilliant? I highly doubt that.**_

_**Viper209n - Anytime one of these chapters spurs people on to re-watch the episode, it makes me feel so good! Thanks for that!**_

_**Jennyloveskandy - I'm glad you understand where I was coming from with this from our PMs.**_

_**Panzie - Like I said in my PM, I am so sorry that I killed Emily. I apologize again.**_

_**OCKandy - I was hoping people would like the Seven Times reference**_

_Cohenwannabe - Glad you liked that Sandy finally found out Kirsten's true early on feelings_

_**Tiffany - I love the playful Kandy banter too. There was so much of it in Season One. I was trying to recapture that.**_

_**Chicaanglaise - I love the Berkeley days too. I'm glad that you liked Sandy's feeling toward Seth going to Berkeley. Sandy not only annoyed me in Season Three, but he consistently upset me as well. I think if Kirsten knew about the Julie/Trey/Ryan incident, they would never have stayed friends. I felt bad for Paul too. Thanks for the long review!**_

_**robbie-kikka - I hope I didn't make you wait too long**_

_**kikinjuju - I am glad you liked Sandy's dispensed advice about Julie**_

_Bluetoffee - I wish Sandy did a lot of things during the series that would have been better for the show._

_**Here we go again...**_

It felt good to watch his wife have a purpose to her day. She was dressed and already working from home when he returned from surfing. He loved this side of his wife. It was safe and comfortable and mostly she seemed happier. An old statement came to his mind. A happy wife equals a happy life. That silly little rhyme spoke volumes. Kirsten seemed truly happy to embark on a new endeavor. He didn't think Julie was the best fit for a partner, but he wasn't going to question it. He loved her too much.

Of course, it wouldn't be long for Julie to say or do something completely off the wall that would make Kirsten formulate her own thoughts. He walked in right as Julie mentioned a business idea involving a stripper doing laundry. He couldn't help but make a joke about it.

He couldn't stick around though. Matt had managed to set up a big meeting with some potential investors. He excused himself, but not before grabbing a bagel and of course a kiss from his wife.

He held his bagel with one hand and his briefcase with another as he leaned in to lightly peck her lips. She tipped her face toward his and closed her eyes and she felt his moistness against her lips. She knew Julie was sitting right next to her, but she couldn't help but want more from him. Maybe it was the fact that it was at that moment she couldn't have him. Maybe it was that he was now the busy one running out of the house in the morning. She didn't know, but when she felt him pull away, she kept her face tilted toward his.

Sandy sensed something from Kirsten, but he really did have to go. When he pulled back from her lips, he gave her a sympathetic look. He could tell she wanted to share a moment of intimacy whether it be a small hug or something more. He felt bad leaving, but he decided not to dwell on it. Their relationship was at it's best when they were both busy and yearning for one another.

After a few hours of figuring out that party planning would be a good business adventure for them, Julie finally left and Kirsten's mind drifted to this morning. She decided to give Sandy a call and see if she could convince him to come home early to her. She knew this was unlikely, but she would give it her best shot.

She heard it ring once and waited for him to pick up. Another ring and still nothing. She was growing impatient. Then she heard a weird tone blare through, indicating that the call was going to voicemail. She was about to hang up when she heard a woman's voice.

"Sandy Cohen's office, this is Karlie speaking. How can I help you?"

Kirsten was suddenly rendered speechless. Since when did Sandy have someone answering his calls? Why didn't he tell her? Was he trying to hide it from her?

"Hello?" That voice broke her from her thoughts and finally she found her voice.

"Yes, I would like to speak to Sandy please." She said in a very vague manner.

"May I ask who's calling?"

Kirsten would have normally just said her name, but a wave a jealousy came over her. "This is his wife, Kirsten." She couldn't believe she just said that, but she didn't care. She needed to make sure whoever was working with her husband knew she existed.

"Oh, hello Mrs. Cohen. I will put you right through."

Kirsten felt better with that response and now felt foolish. She then heard her husband's voice and wanted answers. She just couldn't help it.

"Hey baby!" Sandy exclaimed, not realizing what was going on in his wife's head.

"You are lucky I am not a jealous woman." She teased.

Sandy tried to figure out where she was going with this one. "Okay, I'll bite."

"You never told me you hired yourself a secretary."

"Well good thing you are not a jealous woman then."

Kirsten suddenly became nervous at his statement although deep down she knew he was kidding. "Why? Should I be jealous? How old is she?"

"Baby, relax. She works for both Matt and myself to answer calls. That is all. I didn't tell you because she just started yesterday and it slipped my mind."

"And?"

"She is not what you think. She is twenty-eight, happily married and the mother of two. Please don't make a big deal about this. If you want to ease your mind, come by the office sometime and I will introduce you two." Sandy felt like he was walking on eggshells here. He remembered how upset Kirsten got over his working relationship with Rachel two years ago.

"Do you know what would ease my mind? If you came home early tonight so we can have dinner together."

"I was actually planning on it, but Matt and I have a lot of work to do tonight. I was going to bring him by tonight. Is that okay?" He knew that is not what she had in mind, but hoped she would be okay with it.

"I'll take what I can get."

"I love you, you know that?"

"You better!" She joked back. I'll see you tonight."

Kirsten was home when Sandy and Matt made their way through the front door. Introductions were made and after giving Sandy a quick peck on the lips, Kirsten couldn't take her eyes off of Matt. He was nothing like what she expected and Sandy was quick to notice.

They settled themselves in the den while Kirsten thought about what to order in. It felt good not to cook for a change. She liked settling back into their old ways.

_"What about Thai for dinner?"_

_"Sounds great! Happy days are here again." She smiled at his antics, loving that she was just thinking the same thing as he was._

_Sandy kept his eyes on Kirsten a second too long and Matt was quick to notice._

_"You two are so perfect together. Its almost painful to be around." Matt was referring to his own pain, but Sandy knew nothing of it at the moment._

_"Well we've been working on it for about twenty five years. You're bound to get it right eventually." Sandy knew in his heart it was never always as perfect as it seemed to Matt at that moment. They definitely had their fair share of trials and tribulations. He didn't want to dwell on them anymore. He felt like that was all he did last year. "What about you? There's a girlfriend in Chicago?"_

_"Yeah, yeah she's a great girl." Matt tried to cover what was really going on, not wanting to get into it with Sandy._

_"I look forward to meeting her."_

Ryan and Seth came in to help distract Matt from his deep thoughts. Introductions were once again made and Sandy couldn't help but excuse himself to spend a few moments with his wife in the kitchen. She was just hanging up the phone when he snuck up behind her and circled her waist with one arm while the other swooped her hair away from her neck. "I missed you today!"

Kirsten smiled when she felt her husband's warm lips on the back of her neck. She closed her eyes, grateful that the boys could not see them. "I'm sure you did." She said sarcastically, a smile playing on her lips. She only could hope he didn't miss her because he was constantly being turned on by his new secretary all day long.

"I did. And for the record it was you I missed."

She spun around to face him and moved his hands to the marble countertop, trapping her between his arms. "Good." She said leaning in and kissing his lips briefly, too aware that the boys and their dinner guest were right in the next room.

"I sensed something from you this morning." He said, leaning in closer, now whispering as he lingered close to her lips. "Julie would have understood if you had to excuse yourself for a few minutes." He pressed his lips against hers, wanting to deepen the kiss, but liked playing this teasing game as well.

She could play with the best of them. "A few minutes? Now that doesn't seem worth being rude to my friend."

He genuinely laughed at her teasing, throwing his head back a little. When his eyes caught hers again, he turned serious. "It's not my fault you are so damn sexy!" He pushed his body against hers, letting her feel the beginning stirrings in his pants. "It's really not nice to insult me very shortly after the way I saw you look at my business associate the way you did." He had to call her out on her lingering eyes from before.

She pulled her head away from his to get a better look at his face. "And what way was that?" She asked, appalled.

"I saw your eyes giving him the once over. I know that is the Newpsie side of you coming out, but don't think I didn't notice."

She leaned in this time being the one to initiate the kiss. "There was nothing to notice." She kissed him a little harder this time, parting her lips slightly, but pulling away before her tongue came into play. "He was just not what I expected that's all."

"You had expectations?" Sandy said, pulling away from her slightly. He wasn't mad, but could control the physical distance he put in between them.

"No, not like that!" She exclaimed, pulling him by the shirt back closer to her. "It's just that he has an MBA at his age from Kellogg. That is a very impressive resume. I just assumed he would have been much more …" She struggled for the words to say, not wanting her husband to get the wrong idea. "Nerdy?" She said questioning herself a bit.

Sandy laughed again. "So you think he is non-nerdy?" He joked.

"Yeah. I guess." She could see Sandy's mind turning with thoughts of her being attracted to Matt, which couldn't be further from the truth. He was just a kid in her eyes. "It's a good thing huh? Since I am only attracted to nerds." She said before kissing him and seeking out his tongue with her own.

"Good thing!" Sandy was definitely feeling better.

Their passion had no time to grow although the potential was clearly there. It didn't take long before they heard the unfamiliar cough from Ryan followed by Seth's comments.

"Come on guys. Seriously, we have a guest here. Is this really necessary?"

By the time Sandy pulled away and spun around he realized that Matt was also in the kitchen. He smiled shyly before apologizing, trying to keep Kirsten's embarrassment at bay.

Dinner went well and Sandy appreciated Matt was so nice to his boys, especially Ryan. He seemed to know his place around Kirsten, respecting Sandy and the marriage he loved so much. Matt even went as far as offering Ryan an internship, which even Sandy didn't even think of.

The next day at The Newport Group, Sandy had to admit it was nice having Ryan around. He didn't get to spend much time with him, but he knew Matt was with him and he appreciated that. After he gave them a hefty assignment, they seemed to disappear for the rest of the night. This only served a greater purpose to excuse himself from the office and work from home.

During the same time, Kirsten and Julie were working as well. They were having their first meeting, but Kirsten could immediately tell that Julie was not interested in working. Kirsten was just about to question the idea of this so-called partnership when Julie miraculously surprised her. She landed them their first dinner party.

As evening finally approached, Sandy was thrilled Kirsten was already home. He could smell the delicious aroma from the kitchen, wondering why she decided to go back to cooking again.

"Hey." He said when he approached the kitchen. "What spurred this on?" He was referring to the food.

"I am proud to say that Julie and I got our first gig today. We are hosting a dinner tomorrow night."

"Congratulations." He placed his briefcase on the table and started pulling out papers. "Do you mind if I do some work here? I left early to spend some time with you, but still have some things to finish up."

"No, not at all. I am just glad you are home." Kirsten couldn't remember the last time the two of them were home together on a Friday night this early. She didn't even care that they were both working.

Seth interrupted her thoughts when he came into the kitchen, disclosing some sort of competition he and Summer were in over getting accepted to Brown. Once he left, Kirsten spoke her mind.

_"Summer going to Brown?" Kirsten could help to keep the skepticism out of her voice. "I mean no offense."_

_"She did save Chrismukkah." Sandy defended._

"Very funny. She just doesn't seem like the Ivy League type, right?"

"I bet there were a lot of people that didn't think you were the Berkeley type either."

She thought about what he said, taken back a little bit, but knowing it was true. "I guess."

Sandy knew that last comment didn't come out the right way. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"No, it's true. Even you had made an assumption of me before we actually met." When Sandy smirked, she continued. "Don't try to deny it."

"I'm not denying it, but I was a very guarded individual when I first met you."

"I know." She said knowing that he was talking about the hurt he felt with Rebecca.

"But my impression of you changed the minute we started walking toward that coffee shop.

"How do you mean?"

"It only took those five minutes for to realize there was so much more to you. You were so smart and driven. You were funny and sarcastic. There was so much more to you than what was on the surface. Not that I minded what my eyes saw on the surface, but it only took those five short minutes to realize everything else. Maybe Summer has much more depth to her."

Kirsten smiled, loving this man so much. "You're probably right." She never thought about comparing herself to Summer like that, but Sandy made a good point. She decided to inquire about her other son.

_"Is Ryan eating with us?"_

_"No he's working with Matt tonight. I think he's a good influence on Ryan. You know he's young, he didn't come from much and he's making something of himself. He's a good role model."_

Sandy looked back at his forgotten work on the table. He just wanted to get it done and enjoy spending time with his wife they way he really wanted to. Kirsten started to clean up as she spoke, breaking Sandy's concentration again. "You know, your man crush is deepening!"

Sandy dropped his pen, looking up at her in shock. "My man crush?"

She laughed at the look on his face. "Yeah. You really like him and you talk about him constantly. Should I be worried?"

"You know how I feel about Ryan and myself being very similar?" He hoped she was going to understand where he was going with this. When she nodded, he continued. "Well, I feel like Matt is Ryan's Max." He paused waiting for this information to sink in. "Maybe Matt will be the one to give Ryan the big break that Max gave me. You know? Show him that life could actually be fair sometimes."

Kirsten knew Sandy's appreciation for Max Bloom went beyond anything he held for his own family. She knew that he was Sandy's mentor and holds a very huge candle for the man who he claims changed his life. Kirsten also knew that Rebecca was a part of that whole equation and often tried to look past that to fully understand Sandy's feelings.

She finally finished cleaning up and putting the final things into the fridge. She walked over to the table and squeezed her small waist in between the table and Sandy's lap. She placed her arms delicately around his neck as she spoke softly. "Sometimes I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

He dropped his pen, letting himself fully embrace her body. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you think that you have already done that? Taught Ryan that life is fair. Gave him a chance that probably no one else would? You are his Max, not Matt. Nothing you say will convince me otherwise."

Sandy was reminded for probably the zillionth time of why he married this woman. "Thank you."

She leaned in a pecked his lips. "Next you are going to tell me Matt has a relative that will play that part of Ryan's one great love."

"Kirsten..." He started hating that she was making that comparison. "...you are my one great love. You are the love of my life. I'm sorry if you don't feel that way, but it's the God's honest truth."

"I know. It's just nice to be reminded every now and then."

"Interested in me showing you?" He played.

"Maybe."

He kissed her passionately, moving his one hand to the back of her head and the other to the small of her back.

She pulled back, loving when he kissed her like that. "Definitely!" She changed her answer.

As good of a night they had, Kirsten was still disappointed that she woke up alone. Usually after a night of love making, Sandy would always stay with her in the morning. It was like an unwritten rule they had. She rolled over and saw that he left a note on his pillow. At least he was still thoughtful after all these years.

_Kirsten - _

_You were incredible last night. It was tough for me to leave you in here all by yourself, but I had to get some work done. I am just downstairs. When you are ready, I will join you for breakfast. YOU are the love of my life. Don't ever forget that!_

_- Sandy_

She loved how much he reassured her over all her insecurities. She laid there thinking of their night and the words they shared. She wished he would have spoken those words last year and that she would have believed them.

After their late breakfast, Sandy and Ryan set off to The Newport Group. Neither Kirsten nor Sandy heard Ryan come home last night, but they were well aware of why that might have been. They were almost too afraid to ask what time he strolled in. But the redness in his eyes and the constant yawning gave them a hint that it must have been pretty late.

Sandy tried to ask Ryan about it in the car on the way over. "So, you and Matt worked pretty late last night huh?"

Ryan knew less was more and didn't want to divulge too much information. He knew would not be thrilled with the idea of Matt taking his job to a strip club, let alone his son. He only hoped that Matt did his share of the work so Sandy wouldn't be disappointed. "Yeah."

"That's it? That's all I get?" Sandy tried pushing.

"Not much else to say."

When they went inside the building, Ryan knew that today was not going to be a good day. Where the hell was Matt? What exactly had he done last night? Once Matt did arrive, he was disheveled and looking as badly as Ryan did when he woke up. Ryan wouldn't have been surprised if Matt slept at the club.

Just as Ryan suspected, the meeting went terribly wrong and Sandy was extremely upset. When Matt stormed off apologizing, Ryan knew his time was up. He was going to have to explain what happened. He just wasn't prepared to do so.

"Would you like to tell me now what the hell happened last night?"

"Sandy..." Ryan was trying to buy some time and figure out a way to cover Matt's ass and not have Sandy mad at him as well.

"Save the excuses Ryan. I want you to tell me exactly what you two were up to last night. Why did you both look like shit this morning and the work assigned to you not get done?"

Ryan was startled a little bit by the anger and resentment in Sandy's voice and suddenly he was speechless.

Sandy's impatience got the best of him, not waiting for Ryan to start speaking. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to snap at you. This project was not your responsibility. My anger is not directed toward you. You are here to learn from Matt and the examples that he sets. I just need to know why he didn't get it done."

Without his knowledge, Sandy was making this more difficult in Ryan's eyes. He knew he had to divulge the truth. "Matt needed to take a field trip to clear his head before starting on the job."

"A field trip?"

"Yeah."

"I am going to need more than that." Sandy was getting frustrated again since Ryan was being so vague. That only led him to believe he wasn't going to be happy with what came out of Ryan's mouth next.

"He needed to meet with some friends..."

"Where?" Sandy wasn't going to let Ryan beat around the bush.

"Bare Elegance." Ryan practically whispered. Ryan hoped Sandy didn't know of the place.

Sandy slowly shut his eyes, realizing that maybe Matt wasn't the greatest role model. "Were you with him?"

Ryan suddenly became embarrassed. "Yes." He needed to better explain. "He met with this girl who was his friend..."

"His friend? Ryan, come on. I may be old, but I'm not stupid." Sandy couldn't believe this. "How long did you stay there?"

"Late. Pretty late."

"How late?"

"The majority of the night. I ended up leaving when he disappeared for a long period of time."

"What time did you get home?" Sandy was once again reminded that neither he nor Kirsten heard him come in. "It must have been late."

"Not late enough." Ryan murmured. He had heard certain noises coming from their bedroom that he didn't want to make Sandy aware of. When Ryan finally looked up at Sandy, there was a slight smirk on his face. Not that the anger dissipated, but Sandy knew why Ryan said what he said.

"Fair enough." Sandy joked, not wanting to discuss his sex life with Ryan.

"You're lucky it wasn't Seth!" Ryan tried to play off the real topic at hand.

"Ryan, I don't want you hanging out at strip clubs. Let's start there! You are far too young to be hanging out at places like that. I can understand that it must have been very tempting to be inside a strip club for the first time..."

"Sandy, it wasn't my first time." He figured he should probably make Sandy understand that this wasn't such a big deal for him. He had been around this sort of thing his whole life.

"Well I would like to think it was your first time since you have lived with us. Strip clubs are for bachelor parties, not for a typical Friday night. Do I need to explain that further?"

"No." Ryan knew what Sandy meant. He was trying to be cool with it but at the same time trying to teach him a lesson.

"Lap dances were not on the list of discussions I thought I would be having with you any time in the near future. Don't let me have to bring this up again. Okay?"

"Yeah."

"With that said, you are going to have to take me there."

"What?" Now Ryan was really confused. "Kirsten would..."

"Not for pleasure Ryan. I need to find Matt and find out what the hell happened today. I know his type and I'll bet he is there."

Ryan didn't want to do this, but knew he didn't have a choice. He didn't want to be in this type of situation with Sandy. "Fine."

"I have to call Kirsten first and..."

"You are going to tell Kristen?"

Sandy smirked, knowing Ryan was going to be very sensitive about that. "...and tell her that I am going to be late. As for Kirsten, you should know better than that to ask. Consider it your punishment. Speaking from experience, the strip club lecture is not a pleasant one."

Kirsten's day went just as well as Sandy's. All that cooking she did was such a waste. This asshole wanted to have dinner with Julie. How frustrating is that? And to make matters worse, Julie embraced the whole situation and stayed. Kirsten once again questioned her ability to take this job seriously.

The phone ringing broke her out of her thoughts. When he saw the caller ID that it was Sandy, she answered with a full sentence. "I really hope your meeting went better than my day."

"Sadly, no. I'm sorry to hear your day didn't go well."

"Not really. Please tell me you are on your way home."

"Again, I'm sorry. I have to take care of something first and then I will be home. Let's have a late dinner, okay?"

"You want to go out or stay in?"

"I want to get in my sweats and eat dinner in bed with you. How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect."

Once Sandy and Ryan pulled up, Sandy's level of annoyance skyrocketed. "I can't believe you were inside this place." He murmured.

"It's really not that bad." Ryan didn't want to have to explain that this place was not half as seedy as the places Trey took him in the past.

"Don't say things like that. It leads me to want to ask questions that I am not prepared to hear the answers to."

_Once they were inside, Sandy completely lost his composure. He saw Matt at the bar and approached with one thing in mind. "What the hell happened?"_

_"I'm so sorry..." Mat tried to explain._

_"That you weren't prepared for the meeting, I could maybe overlook. That you were here, that you brought Ryan here really tries my patience. I'd hear you out.."_

_"Thanks. It means a lot." Matt wanted to explain._

_Sandy wasn't prepared to wait for an explanation. Nothing he was going to say would fix it. "But you lied to my face. You disrespected me and the company I'm trying build, the one that you said you wanted to build with me."_

_"It won't happen again." Matt defended._

_"You're right! It won't happen again. I want you out of the office tomorrow. You're fired."_

_"Hey, come on." It was the first time Ryan spoke up._

_"No, not another word out of you kid." Sandy spoke as he pointed his finger at Ryan. "Don't think you don't have anything to be sorry about."_

Ryan had heard Sandy speak with anger in the past, but this was the first time it was directed at him. He thought they ironed everything out at the office, but now he knew otherwise. Hopefully, he would be able to further apologize.

Sandy was more than aggravated by the time he arrived home later that evening. Ryan dropped him off, wanting to go visit Marissa and also wanting to get away from Sandy a bit. If he learned anything from the past, it was that time passing helped others cool off.

The house was dark when he let himself in, but he could feel her presence, wandering off down the long hall. Was she really going to grant his wish of having dinner in their bedroom? When he opened the door, he saw Kirsten sitting at the table set for two by the window overlooking their backyard.

"Well this is a nice surprise." He said, startling her a bit.

She recovered and smiled. "It wasn't meant to be a surprise. I was just honoring a request."

"Wow." Sandy was speechless.

"Well I figured you had a bad day so it was the least I could do."

He made his way over to the table and immediately noticed all the effort she put into this dinner. Carrying everything from the kitchen, cooking all the food and even lighting candles. It was very sweet of her, but only one thing plagued his mind. He kissed her lips softly, savoring this moment. It was his way of saying thank you. "So what are you requesting in return since I know your day didn't go well?"

She gave him a seductive look before taking her hands and pulling his shirt out of his pants. "I think you are going to love my request."

"If it involves you removing my clothes, I am going to love it!" He said with a huge grin on his face.

"No, I was just starting the process." She said pointing over at the bed. She laid out a pair of his sweat pants and his favorite grey New York T shirt on the bed. "Go change and get more comfy. I already did." She pointed out, referring to the fact that she was already in her pajamas.

Sandy didn't have to be told twice as he grabbed the clothes and loosened his tie at the same time. "So what happened today? I take it your dinner didn't go well?"

"It didn't go at all." She started pouring lemon water into the glasses on the table and she continued. "Actually I shouldn't say that exactly. It turns out I cooked all that food for this guy to have Julie as a dinner guest. I wasn't go to suffer the indignity of serving them so I just left."

"And Julie stayed?" Sandy called from the closet.

"What do you think?" She said annoyed. "I guess I shouldn't care considering we still got paid, but I guess I expected her to leave with me. I think I have to learn not to set my expectations too high."

Sandy came out in his comfortable clothes, walking back over to the table. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration for what his wife dealt with today. "I'm sorry you did all that work for Julie."

"I'm over it now. What happened with you? What happened with your meeting?"

"Matt screwed up." It's as simple as that. "I am trying to figure out why he did what he did, but I keep coming up with blanks."

"Well help me understand and maybe I will be able to help you figure it out."

They both sat down to eat as Sandy thought about how much to divulge to Kirsten. "You are really going to be sorry you asked that!"

"What happened to your man crush? Has it faded already?" She tried to joke.

"I don't think you are going to find this a laughing matter." Sandy knew he had to spill the beans. "Matt was totally unprepared for the meeting because he took your son to a strip club all night."

Kirsten's head jerked up from her plate, surprised at the words that just came out of her husband's mouth. "What?"

"I know. I am usually such a good judge of character. Never in a million years would I think Matt would do something like that."

"Ryan was at a strip club?" Kirsten repeated in shock.

"Yeah and you are going to love this next part. Apparently it wasn't his first time."

Kirsten put her fork down, losing her appetite. "I know you say I am usually naive about these sort of things, but he is too young to be going to places like that, right?" She hoped he was going to agree with her.

"I already spoke to him about it. I am not necessarily sure I got through to him though. We have to realize that his brother probably dragged him to places far worse than Bare Elegance when he was younger."

"Bare Elegance?"

"Yeah, that was where they went. It really wasn't that bad, but the whole idea of him in a place like that bothers me."

Kirsten focused on the first part of that statement as Sandy finished the last bits of food on his plate. "How do you know it wasn't that bad? That bad compared to what?"

Sandy knew he was going to have to disclose this part as well. "I had Ryan take me back there so I could square off with Matt. He took off after the meeting and I know his type. I knew he would be there afterwards. Remember that guy Joey Dugan in college? He lived at Smiles, that strip club off campus. He used to eat lunch there twice a week?"

"I remember." Kirsten couldn't help but laugh at the memory of that guy.

"Matt now strikes me as that type. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner."

"Maybe you are being too hard on him."

"Kirsten..." Sandy said appalled. "...He took Ryan to a strip club. I don't need him turning into Joey Dugan by the time he turns eighteen. We gave him a life away from all that crap. I don't want him to think places like that are okay to frequent."

Kirsten could tell that Sandy was upset and figured she would bring this up from a different angle. "Ryan couldn't have been too forth coming with this information."

Sandy placed his napkin on his plate, finished with dinner as Kirsten started eating again. "Not really. I think his biggest concern was if I was going to tell you."

"What did you say?"

Sandy laughed, knowing she was going to kill him for this one. "I told him your strip club lecture was not something to look forward to."

"Great. So now he knows you have been to these types of places in the past?" She didn't want Ryan to think that. She wanted him to assume that she and Sandy were against this sort of thing, even if it wasn't entirely true. Do as I say and not as I do was the message they were trying to get across.

"Don't worry." Sandy started laughing. "I didn't tell him you have been inside a strip club before."

"Sandy!" She exclaimed.

"What?" He feigned innocence.

"You know what! It was one time and only because I rather you go with me than without me. And it was ages ago." Kirsten placed her napkin on her plate as well, definitely done with dinner now. She couldn't keep the smirk off her face as well. She would never forget that night.

"That night will always be embedded into my mind. Your jealousy only served to increase your wildness in the sack if I remember correctly."

She got up from her seat and made her way over to their bed. "Well I had to make sure that I was worth more than those trashy little strippers."

He got up and followed her and kneeled in front of her on the bed. "Any night with you is more than worth it." He said, kissing her passionately.

She pulled him by the t-shirt toward her as she leaned back into the pillows, wanting him to crawl on top of her. "And how were the dancers tonight? Did you enjoy the view?" She said arching her hips so their groins collided.

"Not half as much as I enjoy your touch." He pressed his weight down, giving her the desired pressure she craved.

"Good! I don't want anyone else touching you."

"So you are not going to drag me to another swingers party duel?" Sandy couldn't help but mention that at this particular moment.

"Never!"

"Good because I don't want anyone else's hands on you!" As he started to undress her, he repeated his words from the previous night. "I love you and only you Kirsten."

Sandy woke up the next morning to an empty bed, which was a rarity in their bedroom. Kirsten was always the late sleeper and he was always the one up early and either out surfing or already dressed for work. He heard voices downstairs and knew Kirsten was spending time with the boys.

After taking a shower and getting dressed he headed down to the kitchen, watching his family interact from a distance. It was such a great sight to see considering they rarely did this anymore.

"Hey sleepyhead." Kirsten joked, when she noticed him in the doorway.

"Father." Seth acknowledged his presence as well. Ryan kept his head buried in his cereal, clearly still not comfortable about what happened over the past two days. Seth noticed and decided to get them both out of the kitchen. "Best of 3? Playstation finale?"

Once Ryan agreed, Kirsten and Sandy were left alone in the kitchen. "I wasn't expecting to wake up alone." Sandy said, making his way over to her.

"It's not fun, huh?" She playfully teased.

"No, no it's not."

"My thoughts exactly every single time you surf in the morning." She poked his side, letting him know she was kidding.

Sandy watched as she walked away from him and shuffled some business papers around. "So I have to go into the office for a little bit today. I promise I won't be long."

"Okay." She looked into the living room and then back at Sandy. "Has Ryan said anything to you?"

"Not a thing." Sandy smiled, loving how uncomfortable he felt.

"Great." She said sarcastically, now knowing she was going to have to deal with it.

Once Sandy left, Kirsten started working on starting a budget excell for their new business. She spoke with Julie briefly, saying that she would be over later that evening. She was deep in thought when Ryan came in to refill his drink.

"Hey." She broke the silence.

"Hi. I was just getting a drink." Ryan's face became flushed, suddenly uncomfortable with being alone with Kirsten.

"Ryan..." She started.

"I know you know." He said with his head down.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not happy about it, but I am sure you already knew that."

"I wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for Matt."

"As much as I would like to believe that, I also know you are a teenage boy."

"I don't need to go to places like that." Ryan defended, trying not too say too much. He knew she didn't want to hear he had a healthy sex life with Marissa.

Kirsten knew what he meant. "I'm not stupid Ryan. I know you are sexually active. So was I at your age."

"Whoa..." He started to say.

She gave him a glaring look. "I would like to think you are much more responsible for your actions these days. And contrary to what you believe, I am not going to lecture you. I just want you to know that places like that are not where I hope you would frequent, even as you get older. Okay?"

"That's it?"

"That's it. I think I've scarred you enough!"

Ryan was glad that Kirsten was so easy on him and knew he needed to make sure things were okay with Sandy as well. He knew how mad Sandy was yesterday. "Where did Sandy go? I wanted to talk to him and make sure he is still not mad at me."

"I don't think he was ever really mad at you. Disappointed maybe, but more mad at Matt. He went to the office for a bit."

"Thanks Kirsten."

It wasn't much later when Julie let herself in to the Cohen household.

_"Hey Julie. How was your date?" She asked in a sing-song voice._

_"Oh, it was awful. We totally didn't click, we had nothing to talk about, and his tongue was like sandpaper." Julie always revealed too much information._

_Kirsten couldn't help but make a face at that comment. "Sorry to hear that!"_

_"I'm sorry. I should never have stayed. It was so unprofessional of me." She took a seat next to Kirsten on the couch. "And you made all that food for nothing."_

_Kirsten could see now that Julie thought it was wrong. "Well, it wasn't for nothing. We got paid. In a way, our first venture was a success." Kirsten spoke like a true businesswoman._

_"Yeah I guess so. How weird is it that a guy would spend that much money just to have dinner with a woman?"_

_The wheels started turning in Kirsten's head. "Julie, I have an idea for a new business."_

_"Oh my god! High class call girl operation. I love it!"_

_Just when Kirsten thought Julie was taking this seriously. "No, a high end dating service."_

_"Oh, that could work too!"_

"So, sandpaper huh?" Kirsten couldn't help but bring that back up.

"It was seriously awful. Sometimes I don't think you realize how lucky you are that you are married. As boring as that must be sometimes!"

"It's not as boring as you think." Kirsten smiled, thinking about the last two nights she spent with Sandy. She was lucky.

"Do tell." Julie said, hoping to swap stories.

"No way. Even though I would love to hear all about your tragic date, I'm not disclosing any information about my sex life." She laughed, knowing Julie would want very intimate detail.

After working for a bit and outlining their new business idea, Julie eventually left once Sandy came home. Kirsten's mind kept focusing back to how lucky she really was. She was married to a man who loved and respected her. She never had to worry about their chemistry or the bland sex life that often followed around married couples. She never had to worry about dating or facing evening like Julie just went thought.

She was very, very lucky.

She made her way to Sandy's office, watching him in deep concentration. "Hey." She whispered.

"Hey." He smiled dropping his pen. "Julie left?"

"Yeah." She walked over to him and kissed him on the lips.

"What was that for?" he couldn't help but be surprised.

"I love being married to you. I don't think I say that enough."

"I know." He said. "But I'll take those type of kisses anytime you want to send them my way.

"I love you Sandy."

"I love you too."

_**--**_

_**--**_

_**If you have a moment to spare, please make me a happy person and click that button.**_


	10. The Chrismukah BarMitzvahkah

It was only a few short days until Chrismukah, Seth's favorite uber holiday

_**I know! I know! Bad Writer. Bad Updater. Bad Person. Again, my apologies to all those who left amazing reviews. I love you all and don't show my appreciation enough. Being 39 weeks pregnant can make one very tired, hence the lack of updating!**_

_**Viper209n – Yes, after this chapter the angst will start to show. I'm just going by what Josh gave us.**_

_**Panzie – Glad you enjoyed the humor.**_

_**Bluetoffee – Glad I could change your mind over an episode.**_

_**Kikinjuju – Isn't man crush such a funny thing?**_

_**OCKandy – Who doesn't want more Kandy?**_

_**Jennyloveskandy – I love exploring the Julie/Kirsten relationship as much as Kandy, but fear I don't do it justice.**_

_**ChrisUSA – Love Rysten too.**_

_**Cohenwannabe – Thanks for the compliment. It means a lot coming from you.**_

_**Olivia, Sarah, cheerleader2006, Greta – Thanks for the compliments.**_

_**Chicaanglaise – How this Chrismukah fic lives up to your expectations.**_

_**KrabbyPatty – I never thought about how I wrote Matt, but yes, we definitely will see more of him later on. I Sometimes I like writing the mentions of smut without the actually smut to tease he reader. This chapter is not the case at all.**_

_**So I had to change the rating to this story sure to the upcoming smut. Sorry about that! Hope you enjoy!!**_

It was only a few short days until Chrismukah, Seth's favorite uber holiday. Ryan usually didn't show much excitement over it, but always tried to help and get involved. Kirsten assumed his previous memories of this season were not the best. He rarely spoke about it, but the little things that he had mentioned broke her heart into pieces.

She always went into overdrive this time of year. She wanted to show her support to Seth, embrace that holiday spirit that she and Sandy always enjoyed together, regardless of being confined by religious boundaries and strive for the very best for Ryan's sake.

It was a chilly morning, when he found her surrounded by Christmas and Hanukah decorations. Her melancholy state slowed down her overdriven decorating activities. As she sifted through numerous boxes on the living room floor, she couldn't help but have sad thoughts cross her mind.

Her sad thoughts were interrupted by Sandy coming in from what she assumed was surfing. How could he be in that cold water?

_"Hey, I tell you the air is crisp." He walked through the front door, pointing back to the outside world. "It must be seventy degrees out there." He looked around at the mess Kirsten was sitting in the middle of. "The kids are not back yet with the tree?"_

_"Oh not yet. Seth said they'll be a while. I'm just pulling out stockings, menorahs and yarmuclaus." She stated smiling at the good memories of Chrismukah pasts._

_"All the Chrismukah trimmings." Sandy said softly, knowing something was bothering her. Normally she would never be wasting time looking at each and every decoration._

_Kirsten had Ryan's stocking in her hands, looking at it fondly. "Remember when Seth made him this?"_

_"That feels like forever ago!"_

_"What feels like forever ago is when my mom and I made this." Her hands were now holding an angel. "My dad claimed it was his favorite, always demanded that he got to hang it."_

_Now Sandy understood what was bothering her. He crouched down beside her, wanting to offer some comfort. "It's your first holiday without him."_

_"And the last one with the boys in the house." She smiled sadly, expressing that a multitude of things were bothering her. "Merry Chrismukah huh?"_

_"Well luckily Chrismukah has twice the resistance of an ordinary holiday!" Sandy decided to make a joke of Seth's to cheer her up._

_"It's just that this year it just feels like its flying by so fast. I just feel adrift." She couldn't explain the reasons behind those feelings, but at least she was able to communicate them. In the past, she would have bottled them up, but once again, Suriak helped her._

_"Well you've got your business with Julie. And if you want to feel better about your own life, hanging out with Julie Cooper is a great way to begin." He decided to joke from a different angle. His humor was always something that she embraced and made her feel better._

_Kirsten became distracted. "I should check in on her. See how she's doing."_

_"You mark my words. This will be the best Chrismukah ever." He believed it. Besides, it couldn't be worse than the previous year. He leaned in and decided to give her a kiss for reassurance._

_"You're beginning to sound like Seth." She joked, when he pulled back_

_"Well, it just means you'll miss him less when he's gone."_

He leaned in again, the last kiss too short for his liking. Kirsten dropped the angel that she was holding to wrap her arms around Sandy's neck. She missed all these impromptu kisses they used to always share. She felt Sandy slowly pushing her backwards, wanting her to lay flat on the floor. As much as she wanted him, she wasn't extremely comfortable with the fact that the boys would be back any second with the Christmas tree.

When he felt her resist, he pulled back, but still hovered over her body. "No?" He asked innocently.

She could help but smile at him. "Why start something we are not going to be able to finish right at this very moment?"

He knew she was right. "Why do you always have to be so sensible?"

"Why do you always get in the mood at times like these?"

"I'm always in the mood." He declared. "You know, there used to be a time when I could convince you to do that at any time in any place."

She could tell he was disappointed, but she wasn't ready to hear an inevitable lecture. "That time was well before Seth was aware to what we were doing. Do you really want to hear him if our naked bodies touched his beloved Chrismukah decorations and he witnessed it?"

He thought about it and once again knew she was right. He slowly started to stand and held his hand out to her. Once she was standing upright, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him again. "This doesn't mean we can't continue this later."

With her mind miles away from Sandy and his advances, she kept focusing back to how depressing this holiday would really be. She missed her father terribly and next year would be even lonelier with the boys not living there.

She found herself making her way to a shady part of town where Julie's trailer was located. She couldn't believe that she was actually living there. She knocked and instead of Julie coming to the door and answering it, Kirsten heard her start to yell.

_"I told you Gus. I'm not going to your Christmas party, even if you are deep frying a ham."_

_Kirsten decided she didn't want to hear anymore and let herself in. The image in front of her was not something she expected. It didn't take much for Julie to slip back into her old Trailer Park ways. She quickly sat up at the sight of Kirsten and spit Skoal into a tin can. Kirsten ignored it and decided to speak. "Well, deep fried ham sounds delicious."_

_"Kirsten, um..." She quickly turned off the TV. She didn't need Kirsten knowing she was watching NASCAR. It was bad enough she saw the Skoal. "I thought we weren't doing any business until after the New Year."_

_"I didn't come here for business."_

_"Oh, just happen to be in the neighborhood, huh?" Julie said almost annoyed that Kirsten came over unannounced and seeing her at her worst._

_"I came to see how you were."_

_Now Julie felt bed. There was no need to snap at Kirsten. "I'm great. Some of the neighbors are having cockfights in an hour, using stray dogs. It's a holiday tradition. My money's on the feisty Weimaraner."_

_Kirsten stopped listening at the word cockfights. "Good, because I'm awful." She wasn't there to hide her feelings. She wasn't there to act superior to Julie. She just wanted to spend some time with her friend, no matter where the venue._

_Julie finally understood that Kirsten had no malicious intent. "I'm spitting Skoal into a can, drinking wine from a bottle I unscrewed, and living in a home that if I wanted to, I could put in reverse. I'm beyond awful."_

_"Well misery loves company." Kirsten simply stated, not caring what Julie thought as she sat down on a very uncomfortable couch._

Julie watched Kirsten settle in and decided not to fight it. She turned the television back on and even dared to offer Kirsten some Skoal. When in Rome...

After a few seconds of silence, Julie couldn't help but break it. "I bet you've never been on the inside of one of these things before, huh?"

"That's a bold assumption."

"Is it?"

"I think you would be quite surprised to know that Sandy and I used to live in the back of a mail truck for a few months."

"You?" Julie asked appalled. "Kirsten Cohen?"

Kirsten laughed out loud. "Why do you always think that I think I am above certain things? That couldn't be further from the truth."

"Fair enough. Care to intrigue me with your tales from your past. Anything will make me feel better at this point."

"I'm not so sure I want to share." Kirsten said, quite embarrassed about the way she used to live, which is ironic because those days were some of the best of her life.

"Do I need to remind you of the luxury accommodations I am living in right now?" She said pointing around to their surroundings.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Kirsten figured she would amuse her friend.

"For one thing, how did Sandy convince you to live in a mail truck?"

Kirsten laughed, trying to understand where Julie was coming from. "I was a different person back then. I was young and in love. I would have lived in a cardboard box if Sandy asked me too."

"Really?"

She nodded her head, another smile spreading across her face. "Don't get me wrong. There was a whole adjusting period that took some time, but it was fun and spontaneous and it completely pissed my father off."

"Oh God, I didn't even think of Caleb."

"As you could imagine, it wasn't pretty. He hated Sandy even more after that summer, but it wasn't because of the mail truck. It was because I was so happy with Sandy. He was so hell bent on making sure my life started and ended with Jimmy that I could have dated anyone and it wouldn't have mattered." Kirsten realized she said too much. Maybe mentioning Jimmy was not the best of ideas. She decided to quickly change the subject. "It didn't help that Sandy was the exact opposite of my father and stood against everything he believed in."

"Well he was blind if he couldn't see how happy you were. It used to kill Jimmy to see you like that."

"I'm sorry Julie." Kirsten didn't know what else to say. She knew that must have really hurt back then.

"You don't have to apologize Kirsten. We have been through this before. Jimmy and I had a great life together and I would do everything the exact same way even if I knew the outcome would end me here."

"I feel terrible for what my father did to you."

"Again, not your fault. I think I blamed you for so many things in my life and it wasn't until a few years ago when I realized that couldn't have been further from the truth."

Kirsten just smiled, not having anything more to say. She was content where this conversation ended.

Of course, Julie wanted more. "So I bet you and Sandy had a lot of sex in that mail truck, huh?"

"Julie! I'm not having this conversation with you."

"Why not? I love having this conversation!"

"As much as I would love to, I have to go. I promised Sandy I would be home to help him finish decorating." She started to get up, but was still concerned for her friend. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Thanks for checking though."

The next few days were hectic for parental Cohens. Seth pitched this crazy idea to have a Bar-Mitzvah for Ryan to help raise money for one of their friends. Sandy was less than thrilled with idea finding the whole idea offensive to his Jewish heritage. But there was Kirsten and her feelings to be considered. She seemed totally on board with the idea and he knew she liked getting involved in things for a good cause, plus it helped ease her way back into the community, which was not an easy thing in this town.

Sandy made sure it was honorary and set the ground rules. Kirsten spent the next few days at the hospital and the venue to set things ups. He couldn't help but notice how happy she was. He loved seeing her like this. She was driven and focused and it wasn't for work or her father. It was for herself. He was reminded of the Kirsten he fell in love with at Berkeley. She was always on some sort of mission to bring people together over the things she loved.

A few days before the event, Kirsten came home and noticed a VHS tape on the living room floor that was marked Seth's Bar-Mitzvah. Kirsten knew Seth must have been reminiscing of his own coming of age moment that ended up being such a disaster. She went over and picked it up, her fingers playing with the rectangle plastic contemplating whether to put it in or not.

Lost in her own thoughts, she jumped when she felt someone behind her. Once the familiar arms wrapped themselves around her waist, she relaxed. Sandy's eyes caught what she was holding and chuckled. "God, that was a crazy night." He said referring to the tape.

"That's one way to put it!" She joked back, leaning back enjoying the feeling of his hard chest against her back.

"I think I spent the majority of that party trying to keep my mother away from your father."

"'Yeah, and vice versa for me."

"Not that it worked. They managed to kill each other with words that night."

"What a disaster!" She held the tape up as she spoke. "I really don't want need to watch this now that I am thinking about it. Plus, let's not forget the guest of honor and how miserable he was."

"I know. We had to hear about how awful he felt for weeks that Summer didn't show up."

"He broke my heart that night." She thought back to Seth's misery and how she desperately wanted to fix it. Any mother would feel that way, but she couldn't do anything about it and that hurt her. "Did anything good come of that night?" She asked, throwing the tape onto the couch.

He removed his hand from her waist, moving her hair to one side. As his lips contacted her skin, he whispered. "If I remember correctly, I won a bet that night."

Kirsten immediately knew what he was talking about and had to set him straight. She spun around with a look of shock at she raised her voice a bit. "'You did not! I won that bet."

"I don't think so, but the rules really weren't spelled out. We didn't have time to set it in stone."

"I still won!" She said, knowing she was right. "I guess we really shouldn't complain about your mother's visit since she enabled us to make the bet in the first place."

"There was not one part of me that was thinking about my mother!" He said pulling her close. "Not then and not now!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, loving to think back of memories such as this. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss onto his lips. It was soft and gentle, not wanting to rush how she felt at that moment. "Do you even remember how that whole bet started?"

"I remember literally coming up with it right before we left the party."

"I know. That was my first mistake. I don't think it would have been so close to call if we knew about this the entire evening."

"You're pretty sure of yourself huh?" He asked.

"You know I hate to lose." She joked back.

"Well, double or nothing?" He asked. "What do you say? Recreate that night? That bet?"

"You're on, but there is no way I am going to lose. We started that bet in the first place because our sex life was lacking because I was traveling for work so much. We hardly ever saw each other."

"I know. This makes it almost too easy. If I didn't explode then, I certainly won't explode now."

"Yes, but you're older now and I have my ways." She winked. "Besides you didn't cross the finish line to the house the last time and I only had the car ride to rile you up. Now I have the whole night! You're never going to make it."

"We were in the driveway and that is part of the house, so technically, I win!"

"Don't worry, this time it won't be that close." She said kissing him deeply, rubbing her groin against his wanting to get him going.

"We'll see. You are keeping me way too satisfied these days. You are your own worst enemy." Just then they heard the boys enter the kitchen and they broke apart, the bulge now evident in Sandy's pants.

Kirsten walked away from him as he settled himself down. Sandy entered the kitchen to hear that Ryan was no longer interested in helping Johnny out. Teenage drama reared it's ugly head and Sandy had to fix this immediately. Forget the bet they just made. Kirsten had been working hard on petitioning the hospital and the Newpsies to go along with this. He didn't want to disappoint her. He had to go talk to Ryan.

_Sandy entered the pool house and saw Ryan sulking. "It's time for the big Sandy Cohen uplifting speech."_

_"Look Sandy, I've got my reasons." Ryan clearly didn't want to talk about it._

_"I'm sure you do. Just like I had mine when I didn't want you to do this crazy thing." He had to throw that back in his face even though they both knew it was more of Seth's crazy idea._

_"Sorry to let you down." He said with a twinge of anger in his voice._

_"Well it's not just me. There's also Kirsten. She has her heart set on it." Sandy knew Ryan had a soft spot in his heart for Kirsten and the guilt would help change his mind. "And the hospital. They're all excited about it. And your friend Johnny who, whatever he's done, he could really use your help."_

_"He can still have the event, just do it without me."_

_"Oh that'd be missing the point." Sandy stands up to start his exit from this conversation, knowing he has got Ryan where he wants him. "The whole thing about a Bar-Mitzvah is, it's about becoming a man. Not that you aren't one already but, if there were ever a time for an adult moment, this is it. Whatever's going on set it aside until after tonight."_

_"I'd really be swallowing my pride."_

_"I'm not saying it tastes good, but..." He let his words linger so they would infiltrate Ryan's brain. _

_"You got to do the right thing. Yeah, feels like I do that a lot." He said bitterly._

_Sandy decided it was time to lighten the conversation. "That's because, Ryan Atwood, you're a mensch." When Ryan looked at him, Sandy knew he had_ _no idea what that meant. _

_"And after tonight, I'm going to tell you what that means."_

The night had finally arrived and both Sandy and Kirsten were equally excited for multiple reasons. First and foremost, they were proud of their sons for wanting to work so hard to help out their friend. Secondly, Ryan was going to partake in a Jewish tradition that was very important to Sandy. Finally they both have been teasing each other relentlessly over the past few days about the bet that was going to take place tonight.

Kirsten was in the bathroom finishing getting ready for the gala as Sandy was in their closet tying his tie. Kirsten caught his attention immediately when she walked past him in her underwear and bra. He immediately grabbed her hand, almost missing her sprint to their bedroom to put on the rest of her clothing.

"You know, I can undress very easily and join you over there." He said, completely aware that the odds of this happening were not in his favor.

Kirsten could help but laugh to herself. This was going to be easier than she thought. Instead of pulling away like she normally did when they were getting ready, she decided to embrace the situation. She clenched his hand and moved her body close to his, letting him feel her bare skin that was revealed. She leaned in for a kiss and once their lips were locked she pushed him backwards against one of the bare walls. She deepened the kiss, moving her hands slowly downward to feel his hardening body.

"Do you know how bad I want you right now?" She teased.

Sandy was completely caught up in the moment and unaware of the game Kirsten was already starting to play. He moved his hands to the cup of her bra, pulling it down to reveal her breast. His lips immediately moved to her chest, making their way to her hardened point.

"Tell me." He whispered, his mind focused on her and not their silly bet.

She moved her hands through his hair and smiled like a Cheshire cat. She gently pulled his head up so she could make eye contact with those lustful baby blue eyes. "I would, but we are going to be late. But I am sure we will be able to steal a few moments to ourselves once we get there."

Sandy wasn't stupid and it took him all of about three seconds to figure out what she was doing. Before she could respond, she surprised him again. She created a small distance between them. Reaching her hand down to his semi- bulging crotch, loving that she could turn him on so easily, she spoke softly. "Easy! The night hasn't even started." And with that she waltzed away from him and into their bedroom.

Sandy was almost mad at himself for falling into her trap. He made a promise to himself that he would be more aware of her motives as the night progressed. He knew Kirsten and with a room full of people, her behavior would have to be somewhat tame.

When they arrived at the party, the Cohen family was trapped for the first ten minutes by the photographer. As the shooter called for certain poses, Kirsten decided since there was no one behind them, to make another move on Sandy. Her goal was to keep his mind occupied with sex for the entire evening, This way, when they did have the opportunity to become physical, he would not be able to hold out very long.

As the flashes went off, Kirsten loving rubbed her husbands back since their arms were looped behind each other. She then decided to slowly move it downward, once again checking to make sure no one was behind them. Once her hands reached his buttocks, she gave a gentle squeeze. Sandy jumped a little bit, but regained his composure.

"What are you doing?" He whispered into her ear, slightly breathless.

She played innocent. "You should know by now that when I want something I always get it. Lucky for you, you are what I want." As if that wasn't enough to make his head spin, she continued. "I'm not going to be able to wait much longer either."

As much as Sandy wanted to play along with her flirty games, he held strong. "You know, you did this to me at Seth's Bar Mitzvah and it didn't work then and I doubt your naughty tactics are going to work now."

Once the photographer dismissed them of their duties and the kids walked out of ear shot, Kirsten pulled him close to her by his tie. "Yes, but my father and your mother are not here. With the kids' friends here, I doubt we will even be missed."

"Oh yeah?" He challenged. "What did you have in mind?" He knew Kirsten didn't expect him to call her out on this.

A little taken back that he was fighting her on the issue, she forged forward. She kissed him lightly and moaned so he could hear how much she enjoyed his lips on hers. "I was hoping that these lips…" She said touching her own mouth. "…were not the only ones you kissed tonight." She said seductively, referring to her most intimate of areas.

Sandy was shocked. Kirsten rarely spoke verbally about oral sex and he knew tonight was going to be a challenge, but he figured this only one way. No matter what happened, he was not going to lose tonight, even if the bet was a shot in the dark.

She briskly walked away from him, but turned to look at him over one of her shoulders. She could see the look of shock on his face, loving that a few simple words could send him into a tailspin.

The night took an interesting turn of events when Sandy found himself on stage trying to buy time with the crowd while they tried to locate Ryan. Even Kirsten's mind was now occupied with the fear that Ryan decided not to go through with this after all.

After several uncomfortable moments, Sandy took a seat next to Kirsten when Ryan finally did show up. As he spoke, Sandy and Kirsten's minds were fully focused on him. He spoke so eloquently and they were so proud of him.

Sandy could see that Kirsten was getting emotional over Ryan's words. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She wanted to express why she had tears in her eyes. "Ryan said we were a miracle to him."

"I know." Sandy said proudly. "I think he finally understands how much we love him.

"A miracle though? All we did was give him a chance to be loved."

"Yes, but in Ryan's eyes, that is a miracle. Just like you were my miracle."

"Sandy, don't say that. I was the lucky one."

"I love you, you know that?"

Before she could respond, her boys were at their side, making jokes about some song that apparently meant something to Seth. Once they were left alone again, Kirsten was able to answer him. "I know that and I would like to show you if you'll let me."

Sandy's guard went up, thinking back to their little wager. "Oh no, you don't." He warned. "I am on to you, Mrs. Cohen."

She laughed. "I was just going to ask if you wanted to dance."

"Dancing I can do." Sandy responded, knowing it was safe.

Once she was in his arms, he spoke what was playing on both their minds. "You really think you can win this, huh? Make me lose all control before we get to our house?" He questioned. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the evening is coming to a close and I am holding strong."

Kirsten knew this was her opportunity to stimulate his mind and send orbs of sexual energy to his groin. She kept her voice low as she spoke. "It won't be that hard to get you where I want you."

"That's what you think." He said with a tone of pride in his voice.

Kirsten lowered her voice, not wanting the ears of Newport to know how dirty Kirsten Cohen could really be. "I have been thinking about where tonight is going to lead us and in my mind there is only one place." She moved her hands to the back of his neck, playing with the locks of hair that Sandy was so fortunate to have. "And if you don't want to take me there, then I think you know what will have to happen."

Sandy knew where she was going with this, but wanted to hear her say it. He could feel the stirrings in his pants, but didn't care. It wasn't often that Kirsten spoke this way. "Refresh my memory." He barely got out and he watched his wife move closer to his body.

"I am going to have to take matters into my own hands. You and I both know I have those capabilities to pleasure myself in a way you love to watch."

Images were flying through Sandy's mind and none of them were pure. As he felt her groin push into his harden state, he closed his eyes and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

She loved where he was at the moment. "Of course I rather it be you who touched me and kissed me, but the thoughts of your hard cock inside me will be enough to get me to where I want."

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to his body. "Oh God, Kirsten." He whispered into his ear.

Her lips kissed his earlobe quickly, still conscious that their sons were present even though there wasn't a soul in earshot. "You know how much I like to have you in my mouth." She knew this would seal the deal. "I know it doesn't happen often, but I miss the taste of your explosion. Don't deny me that tonight. Best Chrismukah Ever."

When she pulled back slightly, she could see the glazed over look Sandy had in his eyes. She knew he was hard and it wouldn't take much to bring him over the edge now. "I'm so close." He said as he pulled her close to him again. He didn't want to explode in his pants in the middle of the party like a teenager.

"And I'm so wet." She whispered, feeling Sandy clenching on to her, not to lose control. "The boys took the other car. Let's get out of here."

"I can't even stop to say goodbye." His breaths were short as he was struggling to string his words together.

She arched an eyebrow at him and decided to give him an out. "Say I win and we will head directly to the car."

"You haven't won anything yet." He barely got out.

"I am going to make you come so hard in about five minutes from now. All you have to do is say I win."

Sandy wanted both. He wanted to release himself with her help, but he also wanted to win.

She decided he needed one final nudge. "I want to get out of here so you can hear me scream your name as you get me from behind." She knew the doggy-style position was his favorite.

"You win. You win. Can we go now?"

She grabbed his hand and led him out to the parking lot. They didn't say anything when they reached Sandy's Lexus. He just spun her around and kissed her passionately. "I wanted to do that all night." He said before pushing his groin into her.

Her body was resting against the door and her hands found their way to his pants. As she started to unbuckle, unbutton and unzip, he moved his hands underneath her dress, wanting to feel her moist core. Once his finger found the lacy material and dove underneath, he knew she wasn't lying before. "You're so wet."

"For you." She responded back. She removed her hands from inside his pants and placed them inside his pockets. She grabbed the car keys and pushed him away. "Let's move the car away from here."

As she opened the door to drive, Sandy hopped in the passenger seat. He was grateful that the top was down so they had more room once they reached wherever Kirsten was taking them. Hopefully it wasn't too far.

Kirsten looked over at her husband and saw his hand reach into his pants needing to feel himself. She decided to just pull the car around the back of the building out of everyone's sight. She wanted to go somewhere romantic, but Sandy was close and frankly so was she.

She threw the car in park and didn't even take a second to turn off the ignition. She just leaned over, grabbed the elastic of his boxers pulling them down harshly and desperately wanted to taste her husband.

"You are so big." She said, right before her lips circled him. She used one hand to pleasure the base as her tongue and mouth pleasured the rest of it. Her mouth wasn't going to cover the whole thing tonight.

Sandy's hand caressed her scalp and his clenched his eyes shut and tipped his head to the sky. He didn't want this to end so quickly, but he couldn't keep control.

"Remember how I used to do this to you in my father's car?" She said, spurring him on even further.

"Kirsten, please…" He begged, not wanting her to talk anymore, afraid he would explode in her mouth.

"Remember how you used to pull out during sex and come on my stomach because of the fear of getting pregnant?" She continued as her mouth still worked her magic.

"I'm going to come." He said, pulling her head away, knowing that swallowing what he had to offer was not something she did often.

She looked up at him and spoke when their eyes met. "Remember how much I used to love when you came in my mouth?" She smiled wickedly before her lips retuned to him.

Sandy couldn't believe this night. Kirsten always used to swallow, but it had been so long that he thought she was past it.

Apparently not!

It was only a few more bobs of the head and she felt his entire body stiffen, his buttocks tighten and his cock thrust forward to the depths of her throats. Little by little she felt the warm explosion in her mouth and swallowed. It wasn't something she enjoyed doing, but knew what a turn on it was for Sandy.

His hands softened in her hair as his groans subsided. "Oh God, Kirsten. That was …"

She started to lean back to a sitting position, wiping her lips and looking into his glazed over eyes. "Say I win!"

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"'Very."

"Happy Chrismukah, you win!" He finally said.

"Good, now let's go home. I am ready for my present!" She joked.

--

--

_**Please review for my sanity!**_


	11. The Safe Harbor

The holidays passed and the kids started concentrating on what was important to them

Hey Everyone – This is a very small chapter to continue my missing scenes from Season Three. I apologize for the delay. I figured if I keep them short, I actually have a chance at finishing both Season Three and Season Four. I am not really happy with this chapter, but I cannot tell if it is because I haven't written in awhile, if it is because it is so short or if this particular episode didn't give me much to work with. Whatever the case may be, please continue to read on. I feel like there is not many of us OC readers out there anymore, but I just can't seem to let the ideas of Sandy & Kirsten Cohen go.

The holidays passed and the kids started concentrating on what was important to them. Their senior year was half way over and Marissa was still enrolled in public school. Something needed to be done.

Ryan, Seth and Summer enlisted Taylor's help to start a rally to "Free Marissa" as they were calling it. The other thing missing was a parent advocate. Ryan knew Sandy would help him. Sandy loved ruffling feathers in this town. Since Marissa had been expelled, the gossiping mouths have not stopped.

Sandy felt pretty confident about speaking to the board about the situation. He knew Marissa was good kid and under normal circumstances, this so-called trial would be simple.

It wasn't until the boys waltzed out of the kitchen full of optimism and poster board, that Kirsten sensed Sandy wasn't feeling as confident as he should.

_"This isn't the same judge Mercer that jailed you for contempt?" She asked hoping Sandy would tell her that idea was crazy._

_Sandy slowly nodded his head, knowing Kirsten remembered the incident. "Six hours in the slammer because he didn't like my closing argument. And to this day I still don't understand what it is I said to the guy that struck such a nerve." It was question Sandy played over and over in his mind for a while after it happened. _

_"All I remember is that he hated you passionately." Kirsten remembered how young and scared she was when she got that one phone call. "Maybe he won't remember." She said hopefully._

_Sandy knew better than her. His years in the public defenders office took his optimism right out of these types of situations. "Not likely. And he's not out of town, he's ignoring me. He thinks anything a councilor has to say should be done on the record."_

_"Oh come on! It's not like this is an actual trial." Kirsten thought Sandy was taking this a little too far. Maybe he really was out of town._

_"Tell that to Judge Mercer." Sandy leaned in to give Kirsten a kiss good-bye. He loved that she always tried to find the positives in situations, but he knew better._

Later that day, Matt tempted Sandy with getting some information on Judge Mercer. It seemed so unethical, but it might help understand him better. As Sandy suspected, Matt found out something that explained the judge's reaction. Not that Sandy is excusing his behavior. Never had Sandy been so scared.

Scared for his career that he made a wrong move professionally. It was one of his first cases and he was not familiar with the inner workings of a courtroom.

Scared for his marriage. He was so nervous when he had to call a pregnant Kirsten and tell her to come down to the local precinct. He was so embarrassed and afraid she was going to be furious. She was just as scared as he was, but for entirely different reasons.

Scared that the whole thing would not be resolved easy. Over those six hours, he thought about how much Kirsten must really love him. Every minute wondering if it took another minute longer, would she still be there? She was.

Sandy took a break from The Newport Group and decided to sit on one of the plush couches in his office. He rarely took advantage of the comfy furniture and decided to think about what to do with the information Matt gave to him about Judge Mercer.

It all made sense now. He had a son just like the boy he was defending at the time. No wonder Sandy pissed him off. The more Sandy thought about it, he felt bad for him. How could he use this information to help Marissa?

Kirsten arrived at The Newport Group. She doesn't return there often. It's like her father's ghost haunts her the second she walks through the door. With her hands full of food and drinks, she tries and makes her way to Sandy's office. She never has such success. As nice as it is to get stopped by her former employees, she feels the need to rush through the conversation. The need caused by the guilt that she abandoned their ship. No wonder she didn't go there often.

She leaned in the doorway, watching Sandy's every move. The creases in his forehead deepening with each second that passed. She could tell that only after a few weeks, the stress was getting to him. He was tired and his posture was suffering. Finally she understood the concern Sandy always felt for her when she got home from a long day.

Sandy was pleasantly surprised when Kirsten called his name. Everything was easier when she was around. He told her about his dilemma and she knew he would somehow manage to not disrespect Judge Mercer and at the same time get Marissa back in Harbor.

"Thank you." He said without looking at her.

"For what?" She asked, looking at the side of his head.

"For your advice, your ethical outlook and of course, the spicy Dijon."

She smiled, laughing how the simplest things made him smile. "After all these years, I think I know what you like." As soon as she said it, she knew Sandy wouldn't resist going to an inappropriate conversation. "And I don't mean that sexually." She figured she would stop him before he got started.

Now Sandy's smile turn into a full laugh. "You do realize I could have said a multitude of things right then and there right?"

"I know. Depending on how it goes tonight, maybe you can share your thoughts."

As Kirsten suspected, Sandy managed to pull it off. Marissa would start at Harbor on Monday and Judge Mercer now knew where his son was. Kirsten wasn't kidding when she called him her hero.

Later that night in the privacy of their bedroom, Kirsten spoke of that eventful night that Sandy called her from jail. She was folding down the comforter as Sandy was in the bathroom undressing. "You know what I remember most about that night?"

"What night?"

"The night you called me to bail you out."

Sandy's curiosity was peaked as he surfaced from the bathroom. "What?"

"I remember being so scared. I remember not knowing what to do, where to go. Wondering what you did to get yourself arrested."

"I know." He said moving close to her. "I remember feeling so sorry that I had to make that call." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

The just stayed in that position; their own minds reflecting on the same thought. Even though they were married at that point, Sandy insecurely thought Kirsten was going to leave him that night. If he got disbarred and had to find another career path, he wasn't completely certain at that Kirsten would have stayed with him. Now of course, he felt completely different. They have been through so many ups and downs that Judge Mercer actually put a smile on their face. He served as a reminder when their life was so simple.

Kirsten would never admit it to Sandy, but that night she felt something so entirely wrong. The minute she hung up that phone she couldn't help but wonder if her father was right. Sandy would never amount to anything. She loved him dearly, but it wasn't about love. It was about his integrity and she couldn't help but be doubtful. Of course as she looks back she laughs at such a thought. Sandy has more integrity than anyone she has ever known.

"You know, the kids think of you as a hero too."

"Yeah?" He wondered out loud. "I hope so."

She pulled back so she could face him. "I know so."

He smiled, loving how she made him feel. "Kirsten, I was so scared that night too."

She couldn't help but smile. "Really?" She would have never guessed. He had been so familiar with the system and how the law works. She didn't completely understand.

"I was so scared you were going to leave me that night. I thought I screwed up badly enough to give you a good reason to walk away."

Kirsten leaned in and kissed him. "That thought never crossed my mind." She lied. It was that moment she vowed to herself never to let Sandy in on that little secret.

--

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_**Please review to motivate me to continue. I promise to work harder on the next chapter. Also, any ideas are always welcome!**_


	12. The Sister Act

Shocking

_**Shocking! Another update!! I had some extra time this week and banged this chapter out. I hope you all like. Those of you who are still reading this, I love you. I appreciate every kind word and hope you enjoy this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it.**_

_**Chicaanglaise – Thanks for the quick review. I always assumed Sandy got arrested early in their marriage.**_

_**KrabbyPatty – Glad you caught what Kirsten's lie in the last chapter meant. Trouble Ahead!**_

_**Panzie – I did mix the tenses up. Sometimes when I go back and read what I wrote, I catch my mistakes. There are so many of those with my other stories. UGH.**_

_**Cohenwannabe – I hope you find time to write soon. I know it is hard. In the meanwhile I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

_**4everKandy – I know your story got deleted, but I hope that doesn't discourage you from writing other things. I love your style so please write again soon.**_

_**Cheerleader2006 – Thanks for the review.**_

_**Rachel – Do you think there are people out there that don't like Kandy? I seriously doubt it too.**_

It was way too early. That was the first thought that went through Kirsten's mind when the doorbell rang. She knew that she didn't get up as early as she used to when she worked at The Newport Group, but that didn't excuse visitors ringing her doorbell at seven thirty in the morning.

It didn't take long for everyone to congregate in the kitchen to greet Kaitlin home from boarding school. Kirsten immediately called Julie, not wanting to be the one to explain to her that Julie was broke and currently living in a trailer.

Awkward was one way to describe the feeling in the kitchen when Julie showed up. Kirsten wanted to get out of there and asked Sandy to discuss the launch party as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Sandy, of course had to make his sarcastic comment to make it even more obvious that they were just excusing themselves.

_"You know how I love to talk about a party." _

Kirsten kept walking until she reached his office. "Why do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make your comments."

"Because someone has to break the tension in there. Why does all this drama erupt in our home?"

Kirsten thought back to Kaitlin showing up, scared and alone. "I don't know." She thought about Julie. "Maybe because our kitchen is roomy and Julie never had the decency to tell Kaitlin the truth."

"That poor kid." Sandy actually felt bad that Kaitlin's life was about to be turned upside down.

"I feel bad for Julie. She has to deal with the repercussions of this whole debacle."

"Its hard for me to feel bad for Julie."

"Sandy?" She was asking for him to see what she sees. "She has swallowed her pride and is trying to rebuild. The launch of our company will hopefully give her a good start. Supporting me is supporting her."

Sandy relented. How could he not? He was alone and with his wife. He made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're lucky you're so cute."

"I guess that makes you lucky too." She joked.

After the house and drama cleared out, Kirsten was looking forward to spending a relaxing day fine-tuning the details of the launch. The doorbell rang and the drama, once again, reared its ugly head.

_Kirsten opened the door and couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "Veronica, what are you doing here?"_

Veronica, in typical Newpsie fashion lets herself in. "Hello Kirsten. I hear you and Julie are starting a new dating service. I want you to set me up with the delicious Dr. Neil Roberts."

_Kirsten, this time, couldn't keep the confusion out of her voice. "The father of Marissa's best friend? The girl you called little miss Columbine at last weeks board meeting? Do you really think he would go out with you?" Kirsten was never this rude, but when it came to Veronica Townsend, she just couldn't help it._

_"Of course not. If however I could talk to him..." She paused hoping Kirsten would catch her drift. "...Say over a candle lit dinner, I'm sure I could convince him that I was just a concerned parent looking out for her daughter. And that's where you come in."_

_"And why would I help you?" Kirsten almost shocked herself with how rude she was being._

_Veronica was hoping she wasn't going to have to pull out all the stops, but Kirsten was tougher than she thought. "Marissa's back at Harbor but her involvement in after school activities, senior day, prom, graduation is yet to be determined. And I carry a lot of weight with the parents association. You might say I am the parents association."_

_Kirsten knew she was trapped, but had to make sure she understood this correctly. "You're going to hold a seventeen year old girl hostage for a date?"_

_"A good man is hard to find Kirsten." Kirsten was appalled. "I'm free tomorrow if you're wondering." And with that, Veronica left, but the drama lingered. How was she going to pull this off? _

Sandy was going to have to help. She knew he had nothing to do with her dating service. Their careers were always kept out of their personal lives. It wasn't too long ago that she vowed never to work at The Newport Group again, partially because Sandy was the CEO. How was she going to convince him?

She knew one way that would work, but that would definitely be crossing the lines of mixing business with pleasure.

As she drove over to Sandy's office, she thought about how she was going to approach him. He had to help her figure this out, even if it meant she would get something out of it too.

_Sandy was on the phone when he noticed Kirsten at his office door. He wanted to wrap up this phone call. "Oh, you'll have the contracts by Friday. Yeah, that's great Sid. I'll talk to you then." As he hung up the phone, Kirsten walked in._

_"Well, this is a wonderful surprise." He was thrilled to see her, plus she looked fantastic. She always looked good in jeans and it was nice to see her dressed casual._

_"I wish it was." She leaned in to kiss him. Nothing about this visit was going to be wonderful. "Sandy I have a problem. She took a seat on his couch so Sandy knew she really needed to talk. He leaned back on his desk urging her to continue. "Veronica Townsend came by to see me this morning. She wants me to set her up with Neil Roberts." She knew Sandy would see the immediate problem._

_"Good luck." He knew this would be next to impossible. Neil was like him. Not born into money, but made something of himself. Veronica was a typical Newpsie and knew Neil wouldn't be interested._

_Kirsten needed to tell Sandy the whole story. "She threatened to make Marissa's life a living hell at Harbor if I don't and she can do it."_

_"We can't give in to threats like that. We don't negotiate with the Newpsies." Although Kirsten was born and bred to be one, she was nothing like a Newpsie. _

_Kirsten loved that he was already referring to the problem with 'we'. "I know, but Marissa's been through a lot, and all Neil has to do is take her out for dinner tomorrow night." _

_"Well, so what do you want me to do about it? You're the one with the dating service." He pointed out, reminding her that they usually don't get involved in each other's business lives._

"Neil isn't a client." She explained.

_"An I'm not an employee." He countered._

_"No, but you are Sandy Cohen, professional persuader. You guys play golf together and you're guys." Sandy now knew what she was asking and he was definitely reluctant. Kirsten pushed a little further. "And I'm calling in a wifely favor. Just call?" She asked._

Sandy couldn't believe the request, but he couldn't say no. Kirsten rarely asked him for things, especially of this nature. Kirsten could tell that he was thinking about it and knew how to seal the deal. She lifted herself off the couch and moved her body closer to his. "Please?" She played with his bangs and brushed away the stray pieces that fell into his eyes. "Pretty please?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth. "It's just one phone call."

Sandy eyes moved from his wife and up to the ceiling, indicating he was thinking about it. "You know, you are going to owe me one."

"I figured as much." She leaned in a kissed him again. "Thank you." She started to move away from him.

He grabbed her hand pulling her back to him. "It's going to take more than that little kiss." He cupped her face, and kissed her more passionately this time.

Kirsten pulled back, clearly embarrassed of their surroundings. "Sandy?" She shrieked. "Not here."

"Why not here? We used to do worse things here." He was referring to all the times he used to visit her.

"Those things only happened because I used to feel bad that you used to come all the way to my office. This is different. Plus, this is my Dad's old office. It's kind of creepy."

"Need I remind you that I have to place a phone call into Neil about going out with one of the world's worst Newpsies?" He was partially joking, wondering where Kirsten would go from her.

She knew she had to give him something. "Tell you what." He kissed him slowly this time. "After the launch party, we can celebrate together." She teased. "You can show me how proud you are of me and I can thank you properly."

"Don't tease." He said as she went back to the couch to pick up her purse and leave.

"I never do." She joked back.

The next day Sandy made that awkward call. Luckily for him, Neil was more than gracious to do them this favor. Marissa was important to Summer and also to Julie. He was left no choice but to oblige. Thankful as he was, Sandy couldn't get one thing out of his mind that Neil said.

Kirsten was in their bedroom when he told her that we made the phone call.

"Neil said he would do it."

"You called?" She said surprised even though Sandy said he would.

"I told you I would."

"Thank you." She said as he kissed him lightly to thank him. Sandy eyes moved fro m her face to her breasts. He couldn't help it. Kirsten noticed his wandering eyes as well. "Sandy, I'm up here." She used her pointer finger to guide his chin to the appropriate place.

"I'm sorry, but Neil said something on the phone that got me thinking. He said that he knows every former A cup in this town."

Kirsten let out a loud laugh. "What a weird profession, huh?"

"I don't think I could ever be friends with him if he did work on you."

"Sandy, I would never have work done, but you should know that already."

"Believe me, I'm not saying you should. I love your body and everything about it."

Kirsten was skeptical. "Thank you, but you are not getting rewarded until the launch party."

"I know. I know." He said defeated, but couldn't help but think back to Neil. "It bothers me enough that Jimmy saw you naked and how many years ago was that? I couldn't handle it if he did too."

Kirsten loved that Sandy had some insecurities. "Sandy, my body is for you and you only." She leaned in and kissed him again. "Although you might be sorry you said that when I am in my sixties."

"You could be eighty and I will still love your body."

"We'll see about that." She laughed.

The day of the launch party arrived and Julie was at the Cohen's house helping Kirsten set up. Tonight was big night for them. Although they had some clientele, this was going to help them branch out. Kirsten would like to take credit for the idea, but it was Julie who always thinks throwing a party is good for business.

_"How's it going?" Kirsten asked as Julie was putting programs together._

_"Great, I've done maybe twelve and I've got about a hundred to go." Julie states in a very frustrated manor._

"Well make that a hundred and two." Kirsten figured she better explain since Julie was giving her a strange look. "I've added Neil Roberts and Veronica Townsend to the guest list."

_Julie stopped what she was doing and turned to face Kirsten. "You've got to be kidding me??"_

_Kirsten had to tell her what happened. "Did Sandy..."_

_"What, tell me they were dating?" She interrupted. "No, I had to find that out myself last night at the yacht club. Oh, its just..."_

_Kirsten knew what she was going to say, but wanted to hear it. "What is it?"_

_"Well, for the past few weeks Neil and I have gotten quite close and sure the man is a real catch. A wealthy doctor, estate with pool and tennis court, but I was just grateful that he's been so kind to Marissa. Then last night I saw him with Veronica and it hit me. I think I have feelings for him." She closes her eyes as she admits it out loud for the first time. Romantic feelings and now he's with that witch who tried to harpoon Marissa. And they're coming to our launch party." Kirsten couldn't help but feel bad for her. She needed to know that it was her and Sandy that set them up. But Julie was still going on and on. "I'll be ok Kiki. I'm like the Gulf Region, at this point what's one more hurricane?"_

"Julie, there is something I need to tell you."

"You're not going to tell me you invited Lance to our launch party too?" Julie knew that was a stretch, but at this point, she mind as well have every ex-boyfriend there. What would be the difference?

"I'm glad you are still cracking jokes because this you might not find so funny." Julie looks at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. "Neil and Veronica are only together because Sandy and I asked him to go on a date with her. Never did we think it would be more than a one time thing."

"What?"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Why? Why would you do that? You know she's a bitch. Do you have something against Neil?"

"No. Not at all. You know Sandy and I love Summer and Sandy is good friends with Neil."

"You are not making any sense." Julie exclaimed.

"It was our love for Marissa that forced us to do this."

Julie was now really confused. "What does Marissa...?" Then it hit her. "Veronica?"

"You got it." Kirsten responded. "Veronica came to me with a bunch of threats and Sandy asked Neil for a favor. He went out with her for you."

Julie was not impressed. "As nice as that sounds, it does nothing for my love life." Kirsten made a face, wishing she would be grateful for Neil's actions, but Julie's mind was somewhere else. "Or my sex life."

"Julie!" Kirsten hissed, not wanting the caterers to hear them speaking of inappropriate things.

"What?" She asked innocently. "Sometimes, I really don't think you know how lucky you are."

Kirsten thought back to her promise to Sandy. "No, I do. I know that Sandy and I have had our issues in the past, but I know he loves me."

"Plus you get laid on a regular basis."

"Julie!" Again, she hissed.

"I know you do. You wouldn't be this nice if you weren't."

"Oh God!" With that Kirsten excused herself before Julie continued with this conversation any further. She needed to find Sandy and figure out why Neil is going on another date with Veronica. She needed to tell him they needed to work on breaking them off. Julie was too important to her to let Veronica Townsend stand in the way.

_"Oh Sandy, there you are." She found him in Seth's bedroom. "I have to talk to you about Veronica Townsend and you know who." She didn't want Summer to know this involved her dad._

_"Now we have a quorum." Seth announced, and Summer looked at Kirsten shocked that she knew about her dad and that skank, as she was referring to her these days._

_"What happened?" Sandy asked, directing it toward Kirsten._

_"There are factors of which I was not aware when I had you set them up." Kirsten didn't want the kids to know that Julie was falling for Neil.._

_"Wait, you set them up?" Seth asked._

_Kirsten felt the need to explain. "Veronica wanted to go on a date with Summer's dad and she threatened to make Marissa's life hell if we didn't set them up. Neil agreed as a favor."_

_Sandy saw the look on Summer's face and didn't want her to worry. "Look Neil's a smart guy. If he wants to go on second date with her maybe he sees something in her that we don't."_

_"Huh?" Summer asked._

_"What the hockey?" Seth inquired._

_Kirsten verbalized. "No. No. No."_

_Sandy understood from everyone's reactions that he was probably wrong. "Ok fine, but we have to make sure that she's the one who ends it. If Neil starts pulling away, she might take it out on Marissa."_

_"Genetial Warts." Seth exclaimed, putting his idea out on the table._

_"Seth!" Kirsten scolded._

_"You've got a dinner to set up." Sandy said to Kirsten. "You two keep working on a plan." He said to Seth and Summer. "I'll keep thinking. We can do this." Sandy motivated, before everyone parted ways to get ready for the party._

As Sandy led Kirsten down the hall, he knew there was something else she didn't say. "What factors were you unaware of?"

"Apparently Julie has feelings for Neil and she saw him with Veronica last night at the restaurant."

"So?" Sandy didn't get it.

"So, she was crushed. I had to tell her the whole story."

"I'm sorry honey, but Julie having a crush is an everyday occurrence."

"That's not fair Sandy."

"She married your father. Her judgment is completely blurred in my eyes."

"I'm not saying she has been lucky in the love department, or smart for that matter. But we need to get Neil and Veronica off each other's radar. More for our love for Julie than our dislike for Veronica."

"Or our fear for Summer?" Sandy joked.

"Yeah, something like that." She joked back.

The launch party was a complete success. Julie and Kirsten signed a lot of new clients, Veronica shied away from Neil, Julie got her wish to spend more time with him and the night was finally coming to an end. A wish Sandy dreamed to come true the minute all of Newport filed into his living room. Actually he couldn't wait for this night to end the minute Kirsten came out of the bathroom in her silver, backless dress and her hair tied back.

She looked stunning.

He watched her the entire night schmooze the crowd, something she was born and bred to do. He even caught her flirting a little herself. He knew this was hard for her, especially without alcohol, but it was good for business. Of course he hated the way men started at his wife, but she always kept enough distance, always the one to walk away, always the one to shoot him a smile; enough for him not to ever worry.

The last of the guests finally left and Kirsten and Julie spent a little bit of time talking numbers before calling it a night. She knew Sandy wasn't thrilled to have all those people in his house and was probably happy they were all gone. She also knew he would never complain about it. He was supportive and so good about things like this. Now all she wanted to do was find him.

When she went into their bedroom, he was nowhere to be found. She knew it wouldn't be long before he came to bed. This was the one disadvantage to living in such a large house.

She decided to get ready for bed, ready for him. When she walked out of their bathroom and through their closet, she spotted him closing the blinds in their room. His mind was exactly where hers was. When he was finished he turned around and his eyes met hers. His eyes then moved to what she was wearing.

She covered herself in a plum colored silk robe. Once Sandy finished closing the blinds, her hands moved to the sash covering the favor that she owed him. She slowly untied the two pieces of silk and let the material fall to her sides. Nothing was revealed, the material blinding Sandy of what he was thinking about all night.

"I'm here to hold up my end of the bargain." She teased, moving closer to him pushing him back into the table that rests by the windows.

His eyes watched the sides of the robe as she walked, hoping they would fall further to the wayside. "I'm so glad I made that call." He couldn't keep the giddiness out of his voice.

In one fluid moment, her hands reached the silky material and it slowly descended down her body. Sandy was expecting some sort of lingerie to cover her most private of areas. Once again, Kirsten Cohen surprised him. There she stood completely naked, waiting for him to take advantage of her. "Are you ready?"

"When it comes to you, I'm always ready."

"I'm waiting." She said, referring to the fact that he was still fully clothed. She spun him around, so it was her body now leaning against the cold, glass table. She lifted herself up and took a seat. It wasn't until then that Sandy noticed her high heels when she crossed her legs.

"There's nothing sexier than a naked woman in high heels!" He said as he rid himself of his clothes.

"Really?" She said coyly. "I was just going to say there is nothing sexier than you." She reached for him, happy he was fully ready for her. She didn't want to waste any time. She didn't need the kissing, the foreplay and she certainly didn't need the delay. She just wanted him at that moment and she knew no man would ever complain about such a thing.

But Sandy was not like any man that ever crossed her path.

"Wait a second." He said when he felt himself suddenly at her entrance.

She gave him a questioning look. "What's wrong?"

He cupped her face and kissed her, pushing himself into her a little bit, just enough to tease her. "Oh God, nothing's wrong." He stared into her eyes, but couldn't get his mind off of where his manhood was touching. He pulled away briefly to get his point across. "I'm so proud of you."

She smiled big this time. "Thank you." She simply said. She started to push herself back into him, but he pulled back further.

"I don't think you take what I am saying seriously."

"Sandy, right now my mind is only in one place, but I am trying."

He grabbed her face again. "You're amazing. I watched you all night tonight. I have never seen you so smart and sexy. I watched you conversate and even flirt at times and I wonder how the hell I am the one here in this position with you at the end of the night. You amaze me everyday. I am so, so proud of you."

This never happened before, but she couldn't stop. A single tear trickled down her cheek as she took Sandy's words right into the center of her heart. "You are here because you are the one that amazes me every day and every night."

"I love you."

"I love you too. So much."

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_**Pretty Pretty Please! Hit that button and make a tired girl smile!**_


	13. The Pot Stirrer

_**Sorry for the lag. I just noticed that it has been over a month since I updated and I apologize for that. I feel like I am always apologizing. This chapter seemed so long, but I was really trying to slowly transit Sandy as the man we love to the man he unfortunately turned into during season three. **_

_**This chapter is dedicated to Patty who had a very rough few weeks. Hope you are keeping your head high!**_

_**KellyPeter – Is crying a good thing?**_

_**Andy – Who doesn't love Sandy Cohen, although the next few chapters will challenge that theory.**_

_**KrabbyPatty – I agree that this episode was one of the better ones of Season Three. I really try to fill all the gaps and hope it doesn't seem choppy when I do so. I wish we saw more of Neil and Sandy just being guys. We lost all of the hope for that in Season Four when he went to hang out with Derek, Meredith and the gang. The smut is never enough for you! I always try for Julie to dig for info into Kandy's sex life, but I always hit a wall. Find your muse!  
Cohenwannabe – There is more Julie/Kirsten banter in this chapter for you!**_

_**Panzie – A compliment from you is an honor. Can't wait for your post.**_

_**JennylovesKandy – Hope you enjoyed France. Thanks for the quote.**_

_**SexyEm - So glad you are still reading.**_

_**Chicaanglaise – Most of the time I forget what happens in a particular episode until I research it. I'm glad you enjoyed being taken back to it.**_

_**Rach – The evil business man is below!**_

_**Cheerleader2006 – I never knew anyone anxious for angst. Hopefully I will do it justice.**_

_**4everkandy – Glad you liked it.**_

_**KandyFan – Thanks for the compliment.**_

_**Bronwyn – Here's the update.**_

It was a big day. This day could make or break his career as a CEO. Sandy kept telling himself to stick to his morals and everything would be fine. He could impress the pants off of anybody. He impressed Caleb. Well, maybe impressed wasn't the right word. He was accepting of Sandy marrying his oldest daughter. Of course, acceptance didn't come for many, many years.

Kirsten always told him he was a natural charmer. He just had to believe her. That didn't mean he didn't need his reinforcements.

_"Hey baby. Have you seen my lucky tie?" Sandy asked when he saw Kirsten as he entered the kitchen._

_"I got it dry cleaned." She held up the tie to show him._

_"Oh." He momentarily gave her surprised look, before remembering how well she really did know him. She knew it was a big day for him. "You're an angel."_

_"Big day?" Ryan asked._

_"Well I got to sign some papers, make a few calls, build a hospital."_

_"Building a hospital? Wow!"_

_Sandy knew he couldn't take all the credit. "Well, Caleb deserves most of the credit. I just inherited the project."_

_"So who's paying for it?" Ryan asked, intrigued at such a big development._

_"The board of the Newport Laguna Medical Center. They commissioned a proposal from us and from a firm in Brea. Today, we're both presenting." _

_Kirsten could sense the nervousness in Sandy's voice. "And they are going to pick you."_

_"Well, now that I got my lucky tie..." He tried to joke but Kirsten could see right through it._

Seth interrupted them all as he walked in with the news that he has an interview with a Brown representative. Although showing the support he needed, Seth seemed extremely uneasy about it. Although offering to practice, Sandy dismissed himself pretty quickly. Seth didn't show it, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

As Kirsten made her way to the front door, Sandy held it for her as she exited. As they made there way to their individual cars, Kirsten called to him across the driveway. "You better keep your promise to him. He seems off about this whole Brown interview." She leaned in to the backseat of her car, dumping the pile of portfolios to be filed.

He looked up from where he was placing his suit jacket to the sound of her voice. His eyes were met with the curves of the sexiest woman he was lucky enough to sleep next to every night. "I always keep my promises." He slowly made his way over to her, his eyes glued to her ass.

Her head resurrected from the backseat and her eyes met his and he closed the distance between them. "Not always." She teased.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ever since this proposal has been on the books, you have not come to bed at a decent time. If I remember correctly, two nights ago you made a promise that you definitely didn't keep."

He knew exactly what she was talking about and felt the need to defend himself. "I didn't want to wake you up. You looked too peaceful."

"You still broke your promise." She said opening the front door to the vehicle.

"What if I make you another promise?" He asked hoping for another chance.

"I hate to say it but they are not carrying much weight these days."

He leaned in closer, resting his hands on her shoulders. "What if I begged?"

"Begging is good." She said leaning up to capture his lips. "You know, when I worked at the Newport Group, I always made time for this."

His eyes spoke volumes, his sorrow evident. "I'm trying to manage my time better. It will get better." He leaned in to kiss her. "It has to." He smiled, loving how her kisses made him feel.

"Will you be home for dinner tonight?" She asked, hopeful.

"If I didn't have this meeting, I would walk back through those doors right now." He joked.

"Oh, Seth would just love that." She imagined the look on Seth's face and it made her smile.

He backed away from her, his mind set back to the task ahead. "See you later." As he headed toward his car, he heard her voice.

"You're going to be great. The only one that needs convincing of that is you." She wondered where his self-confidence went sometimes.

As he walked into his office, Sandy felt focused and positive. It wasn't long for Matt to notice. "It looks like you're ready."

"I'm ready to kill this. You?"

"Yeah. What helped you get over the negative hump?"

"A certain sexy blonde told me I could do this." Sandy said with a wink and a smile.

"I need a sexy blonde in my life." He joked.

After the meeting, which he thought went well, Matt went looking for Sandy.

_"I took a look at The Brea Group's plan this morning, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to spook you before the presentation." Matt needed to let Sandy know his fears._

_Sandy had no idea where this is going. "So?"_

_"It's good!"_

_"Better than ours?"_

_Matt knew Sandy wasn't going to like what he had to say, but it had to be said. "They're both excellent, but The Brea Group has been wining and dining Bill Merriam and the board for months. I mean dinner, concerts, cruises..." _

_"Well we offered them bagels when they came in." Sandy knew where this was headed and throwing a joke in was not at the expense of his intelligence. It was his way of showing Matt that he didn't care._

_"I'm worried that we've handicapped ourselves." Matt knew the way the business world worked. Did Sandy really know what he was doing?_

_"When I got into this, I said I wouldn't do business by plying people with meals and gifts."_

_"And I respect that, I do, but what it could all come down to is who Bill Merriam likes more?" Matt wanted to do more. _

_"Well, hopefully he'll appreciate the fact that we appealed to his intelligence and not to his taste for Pinot."_

"Sandy, I think we need to up our game a bit."

"How so?"

"We need to see what he likes and play on it. Cater to his every need to ensure that he picks us over them. We haven't done anything to..." he struggled with his words and decided to be blunt. "....to kiss his ass."

"I'm not stupid Matt. I know that business works on many, many levels that I am not willing to stoop down to. That is not who I am and that is not how I want to run this business."

"But that is what works!" Matt argued.

"That is how Caleb did things. He was sneaky and shady and extremely unethical. He bargained for everything."

"Caleb was successful. He had the respect of many people in this town. People who we will need in the long run."

"The last thing I want to do is use Caleb as an example to follow. He used everyone in his life to get what he wanted, including Kirsten and I won't do it."

"We need this project Sandy."

"Hopefully, we'll get it without compromising ourselves in the process."

On his way home Sandy thought about what Matt said and knew he was probably right. Businessmen were of the lowest kind. He needed to stick to his morals. As he pulled up the driveway, he didn't want to think about it anymore and decided to go check on Seth. He knew something was bothering him and was hoping he would open up to him.

As he guessed, Seth was having second guesses about moving away from home. Sandy could empathize with that and told a story from his past to put his mind at ease. Everyone had these jitters. He would have to get over them. Sandy was completely distracted as the phone rang. This was it.

The phone call from the hospital board.

He noticed the disappointment in Seth's eyes as he accepted the call, but he had no choice. He needed to hear the potentially good news. He made a mental note to follow up with Seth.

Kirsten was making dinner when a sullen looking Sandy walked in.

_"What's wrong?" She asked, figuring it was about the hospital project._

_"Bill Merriam called. It looks like there going with the group in Brea."_

_Kirsten could feel his disappointment. "Oh, I'm sorry." _

_"I just really wanted this project." He didn't want to tell her that The Newport Group was extremely close to failure without it._

_"Is it too late for a new approach?" She was hoping to salvage something from their meeting. She hadn't seen Sandy this disappointed since he was rejected from a job from an environmental law firm almost 20 years ago._

_"No. We took our shot. Plus, I don't want a contract if we have to get it by plying some guy with Kobe beef."_

_"If that's what you think would convince him, I think you're selling yourself short." She knew there was so much more to Sandy than this. She knew he could convince anyone of anything as long as he put his mind to it. She had that much belief in him._

_"What do you mean?" _

_"I just know that when you wooed me, there was no caviar and champagne, and you did alright." She gave him a smile, reminiscing of a time when life was so simple._

_Sandy smiled back at her, remembering exactly what he did to woo her. It still amazed him that she gave him the time of day. "I should take Bill Merriam out for pizza and bad wine in the back of a mail truck."_

The image of one of their first dates flashed in her mind and her smile grew wider. "I mean show him who you are beyond schedules and budgets." That is what she loved about him. He showed her who he was without the fine restaurants and fancy cars. He was different than the others and that drew her in. "And who knows, maybe he loves pizza." She leaned in to kiss his cheek. It was a moment he would never forget. She was always supportive, but sometimes he needed to be reminded of the good things he had to offer.

"Thank you baby." He said sheepishly, still not confident this approach would work. "I still wonder what I did to make you agree to go out with me."

"You did a lot of things. You were different from everyone else. Your approach was different. Your style was different and that intrigued me."

"You know, your life would have probably been much easier if you stuck to the rich, cocky routine that every guy offered you."

"Maybe easier, but definitely not half as much fun." She gave him a mega-watt smile.

"Well hopefully Bill Merriam is a smart as you are."

"That I can't promise, but turn on that charm of yours and it could melt anybody away."

Reason number infinity to why he loved this woman. "Thank you."

With his renewed confidence that Kirsten gave him, he decided to meet Matt in the office to discuss another meeting with Bill.

Matt was thrilled Sandy changed his mind. This would definitely help their cause. "_This is a good idea. I know that they officially haven't given Brea the word yet. What should I do? Set up a tee time? Reservation at The Arches?" Matt's mind was running in a million directions, trying to appeal to Bill's tastes._

_"You've ever eaten at El Pavo Loco?"_

_"No. Is that a new restaurant?" Matt didn't like the sound of this._

_"It's a burrito stand. I thought we'd take him on a walking tour of the neighborhoods around the hospital." Sandy could tell Matt was not on board with the idea._

_"You're kidding?"_

_"The Brea group's hospital is smack in an exclusive area. Ours would serve more people. I want to bring that home." Stick to the basics, Sandy kept telling himself. This was about the hospital, not the personal likes of Bill Merriam._

_"Sandy...." Matt started to question._

"I know." Sandy closes his eyes, trying to shut out the righteous disapproval that Matt was about to disclose. "It's not how the rest of the world does business." Sandy shrugged his shoulders.

_"Okay. I'll tell Bill Merriam that he'll have a day he'll never forget."_

"I know you don't agree, but it worked for me once. I am willing to give it another try."

"What worked for you once? Not competing? Bowing out? Take a road less traveled?"

"Our proposals and our work ethic should be enough to win him over."

"Tell me when this worked for you because right now I am not feeling too confident about your approach."

"Look at me. Take a good, hard look. There's nothing special about who I am or where I come from. But yet, I somehow managed to get the most beautiful woman in the world to agree to spend the rest of her life with me. I won her over with absolutely nothing, but this." He pointed to the left side of his chest. "My heart is fully invested in building this hospital. That is what I have to offer and I can only hope that it is enough."

"Okay. Hopefully Bill will see that as well."

The next morning Sandy needed to speak to Seth. Today was his big interview and he wanted to show his support. He didn't look well. He looked nervous and scared all at once. He tried to offer encouraging words, but he seemed somewhat angry. It was weird, but he was brooding like Ryan. Sometimes he knew better to just leave him be.

Last night was an improvement, but Kirsten could not remember the last time she and Sandy spent the entire day together. Today was going to be no different. He was trying his new approach on Bill Merriam while she helped Julie with Kaitlin's birthday party at Neil's.

_"Thank you so much for your help, Kiki. God knows I have my talents; cooking is not one of them." Julie loved having Kirsten by her side._

_"Well it was nice of Neil to lend you his house." Kirsten pointed out the obvious, trying to squirm information out of Julie._

_"Yes. He is a gentleman."_

_"Is he?" Kirsten gave Julie a look, indicating she was questioning what was going on between the two of them. How much of a gentleman could he really be? What were they already doing that Neil was already loaning her his house to use as her own. Kirsten couldn't help but pose that question._

_There weren't many times Julie could defend herself in this position. "Kirsten please, we've hardly had a real date. We haven't even kissed."_

_"But he offered his house for Kaitlin's birthday. I'd say that's a good sign."_

_Julie didn't want to jinx it and changed the subject. "It is a beautiful house, although I was thinking you could change out the marble in the entrance hall, add some of the furniture..."_

_Kirsten interrupted. "Julie, since you haven't kissed yet, you might want to hold off on the redecorating."_

_"Yeah. Just making conversation."_

"As long as that is all you were doing."

"I just don't want to think something is there when it's all in my imagination. You know how things happen. You kiss and then that immediately turns into sex and then before you know it, there is a break up. I am just trying to enjoy this safe zone. You know what I'm saying right?"

Kirsten just gave her a blank look. "You lost me." She admitted.

"There is such a small window of time before a relationship turns sexual."

"There is?" Kirsten didn't mean to sound so naive, but it had been so long since she was in the dating scene.

"Like with Carter." Julie said, bringing Kirsten back to a time she rather not think about. "It probably wasn't long before you slept with him." Julie noticed the horrified look on Kirsten's face and decided to fill the awkward silence. "Sex just comes so quickly."

"I never slept with Carter. I can't believe you thought I did." Kirsten was clearly upset, but not at Julie. She was upset that she gave off that vibe. She was a married woman.

"I'm sorry. I just assumed you did." Julie knew she hurt Kirsten's feelings and that wasn't her intention. "What about Sandy?"

"What about Sandy?" Kirsten asked, not knowing where Julie was taking this.

"Wasn't the time when you started dating, but before you slept together such a wonderful era?"

Kirsten was trying to think back to such a time. She couldn't help but smile and thoughts of Sandy washed away the thoughts of Carter. She couldn't help it, but she began to blush.

"What?" Julie wished she were inside her mind.

"Nothing." Kirsten quickly answered.

Julie gasped at the realization that fit like perfect pieces of a puzzle. "There wasn't much time, was there?"

"I'm not answering this." She said as she began to carry out the tray of food.

Later that day, Sandy started asking his own questions. Was he really cut out to be a CEO? Did he know what he was getting himself into? Was dismissing Matt's ideas a good decision? As he walked around the pier, the only thing staring him the eyes was the evident boredom Bill Merriam was experiencing. All the talking and positive presenting was getting him nowhere.

He didn't want to lose this hospital. He didn't want to be a failure. It was time to bend a little bit. He needed to recognize what was happening in front of him and change it. He got Matt's attention and pulled him to the side.

_"We're losing him." Sandy stated the obvious. Matt knew it too, but he wasn't the boss. He waited for Sandy to continue, not wanting to pressure him. "Let's do it your way."_

_That was all Matt needed to hear. He knew if Sandy would just give him a little leeway, he could close this deal. "Yeah? You sure?"_

_Sandy knew to admit defeat. "The truth is the tour worked more on me than it did on him. I'm not going to rob this community of something it needs just so I can sleep easier." Once he put it into perspective, it was easier to accept what he was about to do. "Bill." He called over to him. "Its almost dinner time, where would you like to go?"_

Two hours later, Sandy found himself seriously questioning his morals. How did he end up here? Matt made some calls, there was an expensed dinner, women, drinks, more women and a big smile worn on Bill Merriam's face.

Matt was right, but Sandy felt very wrong. He couldn't describe it, but he felt like he sunk to a level he never wanted to play at. He knew where this night was going, and that scared him even more. All he thought about was Kirsten and how disappointed she would be in him.

This is something Caleb probably did a million times. Now it wasn't such a mystery how Lindsay was conceived.

These women were professionals. The fact that Matt knew exactly what Bill wanted and needed scared him a bit. He couldn't believe that getting Bill laid was all that had to be done. He questioned the man's intelligence while questioning his own morals over and over again.

Sandy thought he was better than this, but here he was in Matt's apartment getting offers for things most men would have never turned down.

But Sandy wasn't like most men. He loved his wife and didn't even have to heart to tell her what he did. He was ashamed because he really wasn't much different than her father. He just had to keep reminding himself that this was all for a good cause.

Matt noticed Sandy was not happy with where the evening took him. "So, it looks like Lilly and Bill are hitting it off."

_"Yeah I balked at taking him out to dinner but I'm totally cool about turning your apartment into the Playboy Grotto."_

"Sandy, it had to be done. And he's in. He is doing business with the Newport Group and it's all because I called Lilly and some of the other dancers she works with."

"How can you be comfortable with this?" Sandy asked, starting to question the man Matt really was.

"This is how the business world works. Whether it is right or wrong is not for us to judge. We didn't do anything wrong here."

"I have a feeling my wife would view it differently."

"Kirsten would understand. Her father did things like this all the time. That is what made him successful. He catered to what people wanted. He always closed deals this way."

"I really don't want to be compared to Caleb."

"Fine, but go easy on yourself." Matt didn't want Sandy to beat himself up over this. He needed to put things in perspective. "Now, if you took the blonde up on her offer, then I would worry."

Sandy blushed, now knowing that Matt heard the things she whispered to him. "That stays between us. I have to go call Kirsten and tell her I am going to be late."

He stepped into the other room, dialed and waited for that soft familiar voice to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi baby."

"Hey. How did it go?" She asked.

"It's actually still going." Sandy didn't want to clue her in on what "it" actually was.

"Well that's a good sign."

"Yeah." he said, uncertainly.

"Are you still at the office?" She was hoping he would be on his way home.

"Yeah." It just came out. Why was he lying to her? "I probably won't be home for a little while. You don't have to wait up."

"I'll try. I love you."

He wanted to tell her the truth, but how could he? How would she understand? Before he had the chance, he heard a dial tone. She was gone.

Another hour later, he finally walked through the front door. He wanted to go to bed and tell Kirsten everything. He wanted her to make what he did okay. But he couldn't face her. He decided to make himself a drink and start to get to work on the hospital. Hopefully he wouldn't have to behave like he did tonight. He could now get down to business and start planning something positive for the community.

He didn't know where to begin.

He was sipping his drink when he heard her voice.

_"Oh hey." Kirsten walked into his office and the first thing she noticed was the drink in front of him. He rarely drank in front of her anymore. "When did you get home?" she didn't hear him come in._

_"Just a few minutes ago. I thought you might be sleeping." He was already making excuses for avoiding her._

_"No. I waited up. How did it go?"_

"Well we made our case..." He looked up at Kirsten and sighed. He decided he wasn't going to tell her what case that was. "...And we got it."

_Kirsten's face lit up. She was so proud of him. "Sandy, that's wonderful. And you did it your way."_

_"Yeah." That was all Sandy could muster._

_Kirsten wanted to celebrate. "When are you coming to bed?"_

_"Soon. Bill Merriam is coming by tomorrow and I thought I should prep a little."_

_"Well I'm very proud of you." She said and leaned over to give him a kiss. She could taste the alcohol, savoring that familiar sweetness._

"Are you okay? You don't seem as excited as you should be." She couldn't put her finger on it, but he just seemed off.

"I'm fine. I just can't believe how things unfolded tonight." He wanted to explain without telling her the whole truth.

"Well come to bed. I'll bet good money things will unfold in your favor."

"Is that a bribe?" God, he loved this woman.

"Maybe." She said as she excused herself.

Sandy didn't want to wait too long and really, what prepping had to be done? Getting reservations, hiring call girls? He had to stop thinking about it.

When he opened the double doors to his bedroom, he was in complete shock and awe. There was his beautiful wife, laying on their bed wearing nothing else but his lucky tie. This vision will be embedded in his mind forever. Her long slender legs combined with her golden blonde hair made him think that those women tonight could never hold a candle to his beautiful wife.

"Wow." That was all that he could manage at that moment.

"Well I figured since this was lucky for you, it might be lucky for me." She could be such a tease sometimes.

"You're about to get so lucky." He couldn't wait to take her into his arms. He wanted to make up for all the little white lies he told today. He wasn't trying to be deceitful, but he was trying to justify and protect his decisions.

As his mind started to wander into the earlier events of the day, Kirsten was quick to notice his distraction. Normally he would never take his eyes off of her. Normally, he would never hesitate to make his way over to her.

There was nothing normal about the way he was acting.

She had to call his name to get his attention, and once gained, he did come rushing over to her. They made love, but something was definitely not right. Kirsten felt it immediately. Instead of responding to her kisses, there was hesitation. Instead of advancing further, there was a lag in interest. Kirsten couldn't remember the last time they had sex that felt this awkward. It was almost as if she was trying too hard.

Sandy couldn't keep his mind focused. He knew he must have been out of his mind if his gorgeous wife couldn't keep his mind on the task at hand. It was almost as if he was having trouble paying attention in school.

As they rested under the covers in each other's arms, there was a silence that just lingered amongst them. He was absent-mindedly playing with her hair as his eyes were fixed on the ceiling above.

"Talk to me." She broke the silence.

"Hmm?" He questioned.

""Something is obviously bothering you. What's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm just feeling a little distracted. I'm sorry you noticed."

She rolled over and smiled up at him, her body weight resting on his. "Noticed? Sandy, no offense, but that might have been the worst sex we've ever had."

Now she had his attention. "Really?"

"Really. So tell me what's going on."

He hesitated, trying to figure out how to word what was going on without completely disappointing her. "I guess I am just feeling overwhelmed."

"The only thing you should feel is pride. You obviously did the right thing today. They hospital board chose you."

The more she spoke the worse he was feeling. He needed to get some sleep and try and start tomorrow with a new slate. "Yeah. I only hope it was for the right reasons."

"Sandy, you are a good man. I know what it is like to work there and how easy it is to take the short road. God knows my father probably did it a million times. But you are not my father. You are a good man who makes good decisions."

Sandy didn't say anything. The more she spoke, the more her words hurt him. If she didn't stop, he was going to start to resent her. He had to get some sleep. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Baby, I'm exhausted. I'm going to get some sleep." He slowly rolled over and closed his eyes.

"I love you." She whispered, but he pretended like he didn't hear her. He didn't deserve those words, especially not tonight.

--

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_**I hope you enjoyed this. These chapters are only going to become more difficult to write with all the angst. Please motivate me and click that button.**_


	14. The Cliffhanger

_**Hello once again!**_

_**I hope this chapter finds everyone well. Thanks to all of you who are still reading and I appreciate the time it takes for you to review. You guys make me feel so loved.**_

_**Panzie – I am hoping the reader will feel for Sandy throughout the entire debacle of season three. I realize that this might be hard to accomplish.**_

_**JennylovesKandy – I am trying to mix in the fluff and I am glad you enjoy it. It can't all be angsty right?**_

_**Cheerleader2006 – Capturing their emotions is the hardest part because I felt so sorry for Kirsten throughout this entire thing. Sandy is so much harder to do.**_

_**Bronwyn – Thanks for the 4**__**th**__** "I love it".**_

_**Andy – I only wish that I could update sooner!**_

_**Chicaanglaise – The angst is just beginning so I hope you enjoy every word.**_

No parent should have to wake up that way. He heard an alarm clock going off and the first thing he felt was annoyance. Was your child that tone deaf and lazy that he cannot simply turn off that annoying sound? He muttered choice words as he made his way up to his son's room. Opening the door, the sound gets louder, hurting his thought-filled head. Concern immediately replaced annoyance as he searched the empty room for his son.

Where was he?

Did he come home last night?

Did something happen to him? Was he so wrapped up in his own professional life that he didn't notice his son?

Relax. Stay calm. Think.

He was probably in the pool house with Ryan.

His heart sinks again for the second time when he noticed that Ryan was the only one occupying the pool house. At least one of his sons was safe.

_"Ryan, Ryan!" He tries to keep the concern out of his voice, but he was completely unsuccessful. He gently shakes Ryan's body to wake him up. "Come on, wake up."_

_Ryan slowly rolls over and sees that Sandy is upset. "Hey. What's wrong?"_

_"Seth is gone." That was all the words he could formulate._

_Ryan sits up and can see the worry in Sandy's eyes. "What? He's gone?" He just repeats Sandy's words, trying to make sense of what was going on._

"Yeah! His alarm went off and I went into his room. His bed is empty." He just wanted answers, but unfortunately rambling was something that was uncontrollable at certain times.

_Ryan finally registered what Sandy was saying, but knew that the panic his voice was completely unwarranted. "Uhhh, calc exam." Ryan hated lying to Sandy._

_"Calc exam?" Sandy raises his eyebrows and questions Ryan's words._

_Ryan decided that he had to do better. Sandy was a lawyer and a good one at that. He remembered trying to lie to him last year and ended up grounded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Stop rambling, Ryan told himself. "Um, he probably just went in early to school, cram for it." He scrunched up his face so Sandy couldn't get a good read on his eyes._

_Sandy wasn't completely convinced. "Yeah well I'm going to drive over there to make sure."_

_Ryan now was the one starting to panic. He knew Seth was fine and that he was probably out smoking somewhere. Sandy and inevitably Kirsten didn't need to know about it. "No-no-no-no-no!" He starts to get out of bed to convince Sandy that he was up and moving. "I'll go. I got to get to school early anyway."_

_Sandy thought it was strange that Ryan was so willing to get to school early. Something was definitely off, but Sandy couldn't put his finger on it. He was left only once option and that was to throw a little bit of guilt Ryan's way. "If there was anything going on with Seth, anything I should know, you would tell me right?"_

_Ryan hated when Sandy did that. At that moment he wanted to kill Seth. "Yeah, I'll call you when I find him."_

Sandy watched as Ryan excused himself to go shower, leaving Sandy to wonder what could possibly be going on with his two sons. Ryan was definitely covering for Seth. He was a terrible liar. He had to trust Ryan that if something were seriously wrong, he would tell them.

He decided to head back to his bedroom and notify Kirsten to what was going on. He walked through the backyard and entered the bedroom from the two glass doors. He didn't notice until that moment that the blinds were still in the up position. It then crossed his mind that maybe Ryan saw the pathetic show they put on last night. Maybe that was why his behavior was a little abnormal.

He quietly shut the door behind him, the click of the lock stirring Kirsten out of her slumber. "Where were you?" She turned her entire body toward the door.

"I think the boys are keeping some sort of a secret." He said making his way back over to their bed.

She turned her head to glance at the clock. "Sandy, it's ten after seven. How much trouble could they have gotten themselves into?" She nestled herself deeper into her pillow top mattress, not showing any concern.

"Seth wasn't in his bed this morning."

This got Kirsten's attention as she immediately sat straight up in bed. "What?"

"His alarm was going off and when I went to check on him, he wasn't there."

"Well, did you ask Ryan?"

"Yeah, and he lied to cover for him." Sandy stated as he sat back down on the bed, facing Kirsten.

"How do you know that?" Kirsten was always the one to take Ryan's side.

"Kirsten, come on." He didn't think he needed to explain. He was a public defender. Kids lie to him all the time and he prides himself on knowing when it is happening right to his face. He and Kirsten were just not in sync with each other.

"Okay, let's say he is lying, which I find hard to believe, Ryan would tell us if there was something to worry about."

That was not the response Sandy wanted to hear. "So that makes it okay for them to lie to us?"

Kirsten didn't understand why Sandy was getting so upset. She reached forward, taking his face in her hands. "No, but they're teenagers."

"So? That gives them the right to think we are stupid?"

"They don't think that." Kirsten was hoping not. "They are just going to push the envelope on a constant basis. They are just trying to get away with things that we wouldn't be happy about. That is what being a teenager is all about."

Why was she placating him? He took her hands and removed them from his face. "That doesn't mean I am okay with it." He removed himself from the bed, walking toward the closet to get ready for his day.

"How many times did you lie to your mother?" She called after him.

"This isn't about me."

"Well, let's make it about you."

"Never!" He called back to her from the closet.

This got her attention as she was now heading toward the closet to catch him in a lie. "Never? I don't believe that for a second."

"I didn't." he defended. "Sophie Cohen was just not someone you lied to."

"Oh, that's bullshit and you know it. You used to lie to her all the time. You lied to her for a straight year when we lived together. You made me move all my stuff out when she visited for your graduation."

"That was different."

"How?" She argued.

"I lied about that because I was madly in love with you and she didn't approve. I didn't want to hear from her how wrong you were for me when I knew she was wrong."

Kirsten smiled sweetly, loving when Sandy said romantic things without realizing it. "Well I lied to my parents all the time."

As he picked out a lightly starched shirt, he glanced toward her. "That I know."

"I had to. He never made anything easy for me and he never understood the need for the things I wanted.... including you."

Sandy completely missed the compliment she threw his way. "That's my point. Why do they have a need to lie to us? We are two extremely open minded people who always have their back. I don't get it and I think that is why I am so upset."

"Well I wouldn't think about it too much. You will drive yourself nuts trying to figure out the inner workings of two teenagers."

Later that afternoon, Sandy left for The Newport Group as Kirsten dressed in casual clothes and went downstairs to have a meeting with Julie. She knew they had a lot of work ahead of them, needing to sift through a lot of applications.

Kirsten was hoping they were going to be further along after the first hour passed, but Julie was being no help at all. After her latest quip about one of the applicants dying alone, Kirsten had to snap her out of her trance.

_"Julie!" She raised her voice._

_Julie sighed loudly. "I'm sorry. I just can't focus on fixing other people's love lives when my own is such a mess."_

_Kirsten should have known this had to do with Neil. "Dr. Roberts will call you." Then a thought popped into her head. "Or if you want, you could call him." She took a sip of her coffee trying to hide her smile._

_At that moment, Julie realized how clueless Kirsten was. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know you've been married for like two hundred years, but you must remember something about dating."_

_"Well I hope so or I'm in the wrong business." As Julie poured herself more coffee, Kirsten continued. "Maybe that's the answer. Pitch Dr. Roberts the dating service. Set him up." Kirsten thought this was the perfect solution. Take the offensive position and put fate in her own hands._

_"Set him up?" Julie couldn't help but keep the look of shock out of her face. "Are you high?"_

_"No I'm serious. Then you'll be back on his radar and it won't seem like your pursuing him."_

_Julie started to take the plan into consideration, trying to find its faults. "I like it. I'm aloof but thoughtful."_

_Kirsten decided to finish off how she sees this going. "And when he's confronted with the idea of dating these Newpsies..." _

_"Half of whom he's botoxed himself...." She interrupted._

_"He will realize that the only woman he wants is you." Julie smiled at Kirsten's finishing thoughts. "And he will call you for dinner."_

_Julie's mind took it a step further. "I'll suggest Al Fornos, a table by the window." Julie was surprised Kirsten came up with this. "I'm impressed. You're sneakier than I thought, Kirsten Cohen!"_

_Kirsten couldn't help herself. "Well, being around you all these years, it's rubbed off."_

Julie laughed at loud, knowing Kirsten was witness to all of her Newport scheming. She witnessed Julie become head of all the Newpsies, manage to get Caleb to marry her and succeeded in getting pretty much anything she wanted. "Do you really think this is going to work?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't."

"I really want this to work." Julie couldn't help but say that out loud. She always envied Kirsten and Sandy's relationship and could only hope that she could have that with Neil. "How did you and Sandy meet?"

"What?"

"How did you guys initially meet? It's no secret that you guys have, like the perfect relationship. How did it begin? Maybe mine and Neil's story won't differ too much from yours."

Kirsten laughed because she knew no story would ever be like theirs, so she simplified the story. "Our roommates were dating and we were set up."

"That's it?" Julie knew there had to be more to the story.

"Yeah, pretty much. It was a Halloween party and I had a costume, but Sandy's was a half ass attempt. He wore a paper bag over his head pretty much the entire evening."

"Well at least you got to stare at his body all night, huh?"

Kirsten blushed a little bit, but she did remember being impressed with how built and in shape he was. "Something like that." But then she recalled the best part of the night. "But after having a few drinks, he pulled that bag off his head and before I got to see his blue eyes or wonderful smile, he kissed me."

"Wow." Julie was definitely impressed with the story.

"Yeah and still to this day, I can remember how powerful that kiss was. Everything I knew about him up to that point and then that kiss was enough for me to know that I could spend the rest of my life with him. I didn't even need to see his face."

Julie drifted off into space and Kirsten realized she got carried away with her story. "Julie?" She called her attention.

"Oh my God!" Julie made a realization of her own. "What if I set Neil up with the woman of his dreams? What if all this backfires?"

"Here in Newport? Are you the one that is high?" Kirsten threw Julie's joke back at her.

"I guess you're right."

At the Newport Group that same afternoon Sandy and Matt were discussing business as well as personal matters. Matt, always doing his homework was always one step ahead of the game. Now that the Newport Group got the official approval to start on the hospital project, they now had to present it to the hospital board. Matt did his research and found a possible ally, but was reluctant to bring it up to Sandy.

_"So we really need to get these guys on board with us. We need them to see our vision." Matt started, wanting to slowly break the ice._

_"Right, now we have to ply more people with women and liquor." Sandy said, feeling aggravated. He struggled for days with what he did and thought it was all behind him._

_"I don't think that's going to work." Matt wanted to be realistic. "These guys are doctors not businessmen." _

_Sandy was happy Matt made that clear, not knowing what he had up his sleeve. "Then we got that in common. Call it willful naivety; call it bleary eyed optimism..."_

_"You think we've got a shot?" Matt question once again if Sandy was cut out to be a successful CEO._

_"Yeah, there's over a hundred thousand uninsured that live in Orange County. There's got to be some angle we can find to make that land on these guys." Sandy meant that in the purest way._

_"Well there is." Matt quick response got Sandy's attention. "The head of the board Henry Griffin...turns out we have a personal connection."_

_Sandy didn't like the sound of this, looking at Matt to continue. "Well now there's a shocking turn of events."_

_"It's his daughter Maya."_

_"She's a stripper too?" He said it, already starting to get annoyed._

_"No, she was a year ahead of me at Kellogg. Now she's one of its most trusted advisors. "And she use to have a thing for me." He thought he said enough, painting a picture for Sandy to where this information could take them._

_Sandy saw the picture crystal clear. "Well who could blame her? So now you want to wine and dine her." He used a fatherly tone and Matt looks down to the floor avoiding eye contact. Sandy continued. "Use her affection for you to manipulate her father?"_

_"Listen, it's no worse than the strippers we got for Bill Merriam." Matt defended._

_"Oh, I don't know. I draw the line at family Matt. How about this? How about we find a strategy that doesn't involve liquor or sexual favors?" Sandy hated that he and Matt think in completely different ways._

"I don't think you see this as an opportunity. This could be a huge advantage for us."

"I see this as a corrupt way to run a company I want to build on integrity."

As Matt frowned, Sandy continued. "I don't have a degree in business administration, but I do know how to be a decent human being. I hate that you view everything from a business perspective, but I understand why you do. Screwing with someone's family is not a noble thing to do. I'm not your father so I am not going to continue to lecture you."

Matt looked up at Sandy, like a child being scolded. "Thanks."

"I don't have the chemical make-up that you have. I am still struggling about what we did with Bill Merriam."

"Sandy, you need to relax."

"Don't!" Sandy raised his voice. "I had to lie to Kirsten for probably the first time in, in..." He struggled to think of a time when he was so deceitful. "....in forever." She would be so disappointed of my behavior the other night."

"You didn't do anything wrong. You could have. I heard what that woman offered you that night. If you want to me talk to Kirsten for you..."

Sandy interrupted. "No. It's fine." He didn't think he needed to tell Matt that Kirsten knew nothing about it. "I just don't want to keep things from her and be put in a position to lie. Integrity Matt! Let's focus on that."

Once Matt seemed to be on board, Sandy stayed at the office late, trying to come up with a plan to present to the board that would appeal to them on a professional level. By the time he got home, Kirsten was already sleeping. He loved to watch her sleep. He didn't know how he got so lucky. He would never take any woman up on any offer.

When Kirsten woke up the next morning, Sandy was already gone for the day. She hated living this life. Going to bed alone only to wake up alone, got her thinking about her mother. How did she live her entire life like that, Kirsten thought to herself?

As she got dressed, she thought about how much she missed Sandy. She didn't have too much time to dwell on it because she had a ton of paperwork to do. She decided to make herself a cup of tea and settle herself onto the couch. She was on her third or fourth file when Julie let herself into the Cohen home.

_"Well..." Julie started and she walked toward Kirsten. "I finally heard from Dr. Roberts."_

_"That's great!" Kirsten exclaimed, but when she saw the dirty look Julie gave her, she amended her statement. "Or not?"_

_"He had me set him up with Laura Cross. They'll be eating at Al Fornos, a table by the window." Julie was clearly pissed._

_Kirsten closed her eyes in sympathy. "Oh Julie, I'm sorry."_

_"Well it's my own fault. I let you do the scheming." As Kirsten looked away from Julie, she continued her speech. "Clearly not your wheel house! From now on, if someone needs to be manipulated, we put me in charge!"_

_Kirsten hated to be manipulative anyway. "Fair enough. Laura Cross, I don't know her."_

_"Well she'll probably marry him and enjoy a life of free brow lifts." Kirsten gave her a look like she was crazy, but that didn't stop Julie. "Anyway, I am going to get to know her and find out what I'm up against."_

_Kirsten couldn't help but laugh at such a preposterous idea. "Don't tell me your going to spy on them?"_

_"I tried taking your advice Kiki, and quite frankly it sucked. From now on, we do things the Julie Cooper way."_

"You do realize you are insane, right?"

"Call it what you may, but how else will I get to see what goes on with the two of them?"

"You can be open and direct and ask him about it? These games always backfire on people."

"Not all people." Julie defended. "You have been living in a completely healthy marriage and these games didn't backfire on you."

"That's because Sandy and I never played games."

"Well that's because the two of you are abnormal." With that, Julie left and Kirsten got to thinking.

Sandy never played games with her. He was always so open about his feeling and where he wanted their relationship to go. She was much more reserved, but it worked. She missed seeing him on a daily basis since they seemed to be working on opposite shifts. She felt distanced and he always seemed so distracted.

She decided to give him a call and see if he was thinking about her as much as she was about him. After two rings, Sandy picked up directly. "Hey you." She said starting the conversation, but all she heard were shuffling papers and background noise.

"May I ask whose calling?" He countered.

Was he kidding, she thought. How did he not realize it was his wife on the phone? Were they that off each other's radar? "Sandy?" She questioned, making sure it was him.

"Oh, hey baby. Sorry, I am swamped here trying to iron some figures out and I can't seem to find the projected numbers. This is so frustrating."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said, wishing he didn't sound so stressed out. "I was actually calling to see if you were free for dinner tonight."

At that moment, Kirsten heard all the shuffling around stop. "Are you asking me out?" He joked.

"Maybe. Is that a yes?"

"Definitely."

They decided to go to the yacht club, taking separate cars, which was fitting since she felt like they led separate lives anyway. He gave her a bigger kiss than normal when she arrived. She was surprised, but his kind words pleased her. "You look beautiful, as always." He whispered in her ear. She missed this Sandy.

Once they sat, Sandy still had that distracted look on his face.

_"You could have a drink tonight." Kirsten told him, as she folded her napkin on her lap. She hated that he was hesitant to order what he wanted because of her. _

_"Are you sure?" Normally he would never, but he really could use a drink._

_"Well, you've had a tough day." She wanted him to know she understood, hoping he would open up to her about it._

_Sandy noded his head, but his attention moved from Kirsten and to the bar. "So has Matt!" Sandy motioned to the bar where Matt arrived. "Looks like he's come here to drown his sorrows."_

_Kirsten wanted her husband all to herself, but at heart she was a Newpsie and always portrayed proper etiquette. "Oh, well you should ask him to join us if he's all by himself."_

_As Sandy went to get his attention, he quickly stopped when he noticed a woman meeting him for a drink. "Or not!"_

_Kirsten had no idea of the significance, but she was the one who filled Sandy in. "Oh, that's Maya Griffin." As she spoke, Sandy couldn't help but keep the look of shock off his face. Didn't he just have this conversation with Matt earlier today? "OC Weekly just did a profile on her. Apparently she is an up and coming Newpsie. Wow I have too much time on my hands."_

_Sandy was so pissed at Matt and couldn't help but spill out the next statement. "Well if she's the new queen, she still has got a lot to learn." Did she have any idea what Matt's intentions were?_

_Kirsten didn't understand. "Well why wouldn't she date him? He's young and attractive."_

_Sandy filled in the last piece of the puzzle. "He's using her. Her father is the head of the board."_

_Kirsten understood what this meant better than anyone. She used to be the Maya of The Newport Group. People used her all the time. "Are you going to talk to him?"_

Sandy wanted to pull him out of that bar right then and there. What good would that do? He would embarrass Matt and ultimately it would get back to Henry. "Tomorrow. Tonight I'm out with my lovely, beautiful, morally uncompromised wife." He didn't want to be there anymore.

_Kirsten was always able to read his mind. "We could go to the Crab Shack, pick up something to go."_

_"Sand dabs are in season. Genius."_

Once they arrived home, Sandy opened up a little bit to Kirsten. "I'm worried about Matt. I don't understand what he is thinking."

"What do you mean?"

"We just had this conversation today. He completely ignored what I said."

"Did you forbid him to date her?"

"I made it clear I didn't want him to use her to get to her father."

"Unfortunately that is how business works." She simply stated.

"So you think what he is doing is okay?" Sandy couldn't believe her.

"No, I don't. I hated when people did that to me. I hated when men, who didn't know I was married, asked me out just to get a meeting with my father."

Sandy always pretended that he had no idea that Kirsten was put in these positions. "When?"

"When what?"

"When were you asked out by a colleague?" Sandy couldn't help but keep the anger and jealousy out of his voice.

"It was a long time ago, but my point is that it does happen. You are a good man Sandy and unlike my father, you see there is a lot of wrong in this. You are a husband and father and view things in a way Matt could never begin to understand."

That night Sandy wasn't comforted by Kirsten's words. He hated that she has been exposed to all these things her whole life. He tried to accept that she was probably right. He embraced her in their bed that night, holding on to the hope that Kirsten might just be wrong.

The next morning, Kirsten couldn't help but feel like everything was right in the world. Her whole family present for breakfast was not something that happened often anymore. She sipped her coffee, enjoying the banter. Summer waltzed in, asking to speak to Seth upstairs alone. Although she saw the look of worry on Sandy's face, Kirsten couldn't help but smile at the girl.

Once they disappeared, Kirsten spoke out loud. "Thank God Summer is in his life. She helps keep him in line."

"Do you think he's okay?" Sandy asked.

At that moment, Ryan excused himself, not wanting to hear where this conversation was going. Once he was half way through the backyard, Sandy continued. "See?"

Kirsten was oblivious. "What?"

"Something is going on. I can feel it. Summer dragging him upstairs, Ryan leaving the room."

Kirsten made her way over to him. She hasn't seen him this tense in a really long time. She knew it was the stress of The Newport Group, but she was pretty certain that the lull in their sex life wasn't helping. "You have to trust them." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned in slowly, giving him soft kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her; feeling like it had been forever since he had her like this. "I miss you, just so you know." He kissed her again.

"Me too." She said sadly. "Go easy on Matt today. Hear him out, okay?"

He kissed her one more time. "Okay."

It wasn't long before Sandy found himself waiting for Matt to come into his office. He hated working on the weekends. He remembered a time when he used to scold Kirsten for doing weekend work. He was trying to remain calm and take Kirsten's advice.

_"Hey, I didn't know we were working this weekend. I thought maybe you and I would go hit the links." Matt said, unaware of the real reason Sandy called him in._

_"What? And ruin a sport I love?" Sandy joked, trying to remain calm "It's the weekend so I'm going to make this brief as I know how. I was at dinner last night with Kirsten at the Yacht Club. I saw you there with Maya." Sandy held his stare, getting his point across that he was not happy._

_"Henry Griffin told Maya about meeting with me, so she decided to get in touch." He explained._

_How was Sandy supposed to believe that? "She asked you to dinner?" He questioned._

_"She did. Why? Is it illegal to take a girl out to dinner?" He defended._

_Sandy didn't know how to get through to Matt. You know when Kirsten use to run this place, I saw a lot of creeps in nice suits that used to try to use her to get to her father. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now." He knew it went on, but hearing Kirsten mention it last night made it a reality._

_"We're trying to build a hospital that could service a hundred thousand uninsured!" Matt figured that was enough to back up his actions. Maya is gorgeous and this was for a good cause. Not to mention, this would be a great addition to The Newport Group's portfolio._

_"You're trying to use a daughter to manipulate her father." Sandy hated to think he had to point that out. "And you're comfortable with that!" _

_Although Matt had only been in corporate America for a few years, he knew so much more how the world worked. "Look Sandy you're a great guy, but maybe you don't have the stomach for this. All I'm saying is that we're going to have to bend the rules if we want to win the game." Sandy needed to hear this._

_Sarcasm was Sandy's strong suit. "That'll look great on a bumper sticker." Sandy needed to remind him that he was running this company. I want to see you on Monday with a real game plan._

_"Alright." Matt replied, defeated. He started to walk out, knowing that courting Maya was only one rule that needed to be bent_.

"Matt, I'm serious."

"I know you are."

"If you screw up with Maya, we are done and I am not willing to put your romantic skills to the test."

"So this isn't about your morals? This is about you trusting me."

"It's about both. Do you know who Jayse Hackett is?" Sandy asked, already knowing his answer.

"No."

"Do you want to know why you don't know who he is? Because he was a sleaze-bag contractor that Kirsten felt uncomfortable around. He did whatever he thought Kirsten needed to eventually get to Caleb. And when I say needed, I mean in every way. He was completely disrespectful to Kirsten and to our marriage. So you've never heard of him because Caleb made sure no one ever hired him. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Got it boss!"

With all this reminiscing, Sandy gave Kirsten a call. He had to remind himself how lucky he really was. After three rings, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey baby." He said.

She couldn't resist but play a joke on him. "May I ask whose calling?" She was doing her best to suppress her laughter.

Sandy was taken back. How did she know it wasn't him? "Kirsten? It's me." He clarified.

"I know it's you." She laughed. "I just wanted you to know how it felt. You did that to me yesterday."

He laughed. "I'm sorry. That's just mean."

"It was mean yesterday too."

"Are you free for dinner?"

"Sure. What time are you coming home?" She asked, hoping it was soon.

"In an hour or so."

Right then, Kirsten got a beep, indicating someone was on the other line. Once she checked the caller ID, she told Sandy she had to go. "Let me go, it's Julie on the other line."

"See you later."

Once she clicked over and realized where Julie was, she decided to stay on the phone with her. She couldn't believe she was spying on Neil, like some sort of a child. Julie ended the conversation and Kirsten realized that she had now been waiting for Sandy for over an hour.

She knew better. He wasn't coming home any time soon. She wanted to be mad, but how could she? She must have done this to him a million times. She decided to pick up some food and bring it there. It wouldn't be the first time they had dinner at the Newport Group.

As she walked those familiar halls, she realized that it was just something about that place that sucks you in. You try to escape or leave at a certain time and you somehow are incapable. When she got to Sandy's office, she saw him sitting on the couch in deep thought. She remembered countless nights she found herself in this same position.

_"Hungry?" Kirsten called, gaining his attention._

Seeing her there, looking so beautiful made him feel terrible. "Oh I'm sorry baby." He glanced down at his watch to check just how late he really was. "I should have called."

_Kirsten walked into his office taking a seat next to him on the couch. "Oh that's ok. I figured you were here." She started unloading the bags of takeout she brought with her._

_"Who would have thought the Newport Group would be where I go to for a moment of Zen?" He asked, jokingly._

_"Sometimes this job makes you do a lot of hard thinking." She sighed, knowing how many things must be running through his mind._

_Sandy decided to share his thoughts. Shaking his head, he continued. "I want this hospital more than I have wanted anything in a long time."_

_Kirsten knew this had to do with the hospital. It was nice to see Sandy so passionate about something. His professional life was such a mundane existence over the past year, she knew it was important to support him. "Then you can't let Matt's relationship with Maya Griffin stand in your way." She knew how torn he was about what Matt did. She knew there was a serious temptation deep down that he hated himself for experiencing. "For all you know she could be using him too, or they could live happily ever after. The point is if you want this as bad as I think you do, you have to go for it."_

_Sandy loved that she was being so supportive, but did she really have a clue to what he would have to do to go for it? "So where's the line?"_

_Kirsten never thought Sandy would have this sort of a question. He is usually so confident with every decision he makes. Why was he so worried about this now? "I'm not worried about you knowing where the line is. You always do. It's who you are!" She complimented._

Sandy looked down, having a hard time believing her words. "I'm just having a really hard time with all of this right now." He revealed. "I knew your father did his share of shady business, but I didn't know that this was how the entire industry worked."

"It doesn't have to be that way all the time."

"That's the part I'm trying to figure out." He thought about what he wanted to say next, but was little afraid to dig up the past. "Do you remember Jayse Hackett?"

Kirsten gave a small chuckle. "How could I ever forget that character?" Then it hit her. "Wait, how do you know Jayse Hackett?"

Sandy let out a chuckle of his own. "I know many things you might be unaware of, but I hated that guy from the moment I found out what his antics were all about."

"I still don't...." Kirsten said more to herself, trying to place how Sandy would know him.

"Of course, I hated him because he did things that involved you, but I hated him more for the man he was. And now, I am contemplating allowing Matt to be that person and involve Maya in this whole thing?"

"My dad." Kirsten realized. "He must have told you about him. Why?"

"It was more like threatening, but that's not the point. You're dad kept him away from you and the business. The realization that Caleb had more morals than I do right now does not sit well with me."

"Do you really want to tally the negative things my father has done with this company?" She countered.

"I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right." She said confidently. "I love you Sandy. Don't doubt your ability to be a good man. That's all you know how to be."

"Thank you."

Once they arrived home, they were met with a very odd sight. Seth was sitting in the living room staring at a blue input screen on the television, mesmerized.

"What is going on with him?" Sandy whispered. "Something is definitely up."

Kirsten thought Seth looked a little out of it and his eyes were bloodshot, but she didn't want to mention that to Sandy. It was hard to separate herself as a parent in this town when she was once a teenager in this town. Sandy didn't need to extra stress right now anyway. "We'll talk to him tomorrow." She whispered back. "Let's go to bed."

As they made their way down the long familiar hallway, Sandy watched his wife walk ahead of him. He couldn't held but reach out and grab her hand. When she felt his touch, she spun around to face him. "I love you, Kirsten. I want to make you proud of me."

She leaned into give him a reassuring kiss. "I already am."

--

--

_**Pretty please with sugar on top – Click it!!!!**_


	15. The Heavy Lifting

**I cannot believe that I am actually writing again. I really thought I was done, but Viper209n inspired me to continue. I doubt there are any of you still out there, but if you are, please review so I will continue on. I need the encouragement. It has been so long, I am not sure if your current email address are still linked up to this site.**

_**Anyway, my apologies**_.

_The Heavy Lifting – Original Airdate – February 9__th__, 2006_

_**All Italics are Josh's words!**_

Every year he dreaded it. Valentine's Day. The one holiday that always gets him in some sort of trouble with Kirsten. It was never enough. She always sets her expectations too high and he always seems to let her down. He hates this holiday.

He couldn't think about it now. He had much bigger issues to face. They were going to lose their chance with the hospital board. He wanted to build this hospital in the worst way. Mostly his desires were stirred by the constant need to help others. He hated to admit it, but a part of him desired The Newport Group to gain a monumental project under his title as CEO. He needed to succeed at this. How did Kirsten do it all these years? It made him a bit jealous, not that he would ever admit that.

His only strand of hope was Maya Griffin, the daughter of the key ingredient to get this project cooking. He was changing. He struggled to keep his feet grounded and his stance in place. He didn't want Matt to use her. He didn't want him to lead her on. He made that quite clear when Matt came into his office early in the morning. He was desperate, now knowing how many of Caleb's clients felt.

He hated those men. He hated when they did this to Kirsten. He hated when they bought her dinner and flirted with her relentlessly. His blood boiled when their hands touched her in any way.

Now, he admittedly wants Matt to do these same things to Maya. Thankfully Matt genuinely likes her. Now he doesn't have to explore the possibility of having him use her. Would he be okay with that if it came down to it?

Kirsten spent the day working as well. She and Julie were setting up for the Valentine's Day event. As much as she hated to think about it, she knew Sandy would once again disappoint her by not embracing the holiday.

She and Julie were walking along the beach when Julie started to mention another plan to stalk Dr. Roberts.

"_Julie, the last time you went on a stealth mission, you toppled a dessert tray." She said, trying to point out to Julie that her behavior over the last few weeks has been ridiculous._

"_Yeah, but it got his attention."_

"Men and women are different creatures Julie." She hated to admit this next point, but this was the game she always played with Sandy. "You are going to have to wait for him to come to terms with the idea of you and him on his own. For some reason it takes men longer to figure things out."

"Yeah, right." Julie responded, knowing Sandy didn't waste any time making a move on Kirsten.

"I'm serious." Kirsten again wanted to reiterate how bad Sandy was in the Valentine's Day department. "When I said Sandy is not a big fan of Valentine's Day, I meant it. He always botches it up." She expressed her frustrations, knowing Sandy's behavior was not typical of ALL men.

"Do you ever think he does it on purpose?"

"I know he does it on purpose. He knows it pisses me off, but that is worth his expressions of how much he hates how hyped up people feel about expressing themselves on this one day." She knew deep down Sandy was right, but she didn't care. She loved the whole idea of Valentine's Day.

"Sometimes, I think Sandy is smarter than I give him credit for." Julie smiles knowingly, that Kirsten would get over it.

The next morning Kirsten was starting to stress. She loved throwing events, but anything less than perfect was not acceptable in her eyes. As she was on the phone with a vendor, she heard Matt & Sandy enter the house from shooting some hoops. Sandy was such a kid sometimes, she thought.

"_Hey, honey, are the kids home?" Sandy asked when she hung up the phone._

"_No, they're on the way to the bait shop for the wake." Once again she was reminded how hard Johnny's death must be on all of them. "Hey, matt, how's it going?" She decided to change the subject. _

"_Women troubles." Matt said frustrated that Maya was giving him a hard time about going out with him again. He knew he should have called her._

"_Oh, well, maybe I can play cupid." Kirsten offered._

"_That's a great idea." The wheels were already spinning. _

"_Really, Sandy?" Kirsten knew she had him. "And what is it that you say about Valentine's Day? That it's a vacuous, commercially driven, hollow shell of a holiday?" She repeated his words that stung her heart. _

"_Well, sometimes we all need a little vacuous, commercially driven diversion, and this would be one of those times." He was desperate. _

_Kirsten ignored him, doing this more for Matt than Sandy. "What's her name? I'll have a ticket to the party delivered." _

"_It's Maya Griffin." _

"_Whose father is the head of the physician's board? I don't know." She hesitated. _

"_If anybody can do it, you can." Sandy pushed. _

"_This girl doesn't need my help getting a date. It'll never work." She argued, not wanting to put herself in this situation. _

"_You know what, Kirsten? Don't worry about it. I'm sure that we can come up with something else." Matt said defeated as he walked out of the room._

Kirsten felt bad and knew the ball was in her court. She moved closer to Sandy as she lowered her voice. It was time to make a deal. "I'll get Maya to the party, if you try and embrace the holiday." She needed to verbalize the rules. "No whining, no snarky comments. Candies. Candles. Lingerie. Nice lingerie." She knew better than to leave it at that. He was a man. He needed specifics. She hated that she had to do this. "Nothing red, see-through or remotely edible." The last part was a joke, but felt the need to lighten the situation.

_Sandy reminded her that he was the funny one. "Not even a little see-through?"_

He wouldn't crack a smile, pretending he was completely serious. She broke first, laughing at his joke. Her smile illuminated the room. "You know 'see through' is not my style." She said shyly, although she questioned her last statement. "Is it yours? Is it a secret fantasy you never told me about?"

Now his lips curved upwards. "You should know by now what my likes and dislikes are."

He didn't mean anything by that, but it struck a nerve. "Well if you ever actually bought me lingerie, you would know my likes and dislikes." She was half joking, but wanted to make her point. "Come to think of it, have you been paying attention at all to what I wear in the bedroom?"

He was too smart for this. "I am not going to speak another word. I know this conversation is only going in a bad direction." He pulled her close. "You got a deal." He leaned in, sealing it with a short kiss.

A little bit later, Kirsten found her Victoria's Secret catalog and figured to assist Sandy in not screwing this up. After circling a few things that she likes, she called Maya and set up a meeting with her.

On her way out, she caught Sandy in his office. She walked thought the wooden frame, doing everything in her power not to show any sense of playfulness. She threw the catalog on his desk. As quickly as she entered, she tried to exit.

"What's this?" Sandy called out after her.

"Suggestions. So you don't disappoint me." She said as he stared at her back.

"Where are you going?" He tried stopping her, knowing it was a lost battle. "Maybe we should look at this together."

She spun around. "Unlike you, I don't need assistance keeping up my end of the deal."

Although not an easy task, Maya agreed to attend the event, even though Matt disappointed her in the past. Kirsten completely understood her point. She probably wouldn't have given Matt another chance either. But she needed to make sure Sandy didn't win this war.

After Sandy returned from Victoria's Secret, he walked in the kitchen and Seth was sitting at the table. He had his own lingerie bag.

"_I see you've picked up a little something for your lady, and I for mine." Sandy said starting the conversation. Seth looked upset and wanted him to open up. _

"Uh, your lady is my mother, and I really don't want to talk about it." Sandy was right.

"_Women's underwear has gotten very complicated. Thongs. Bikinis. Briefs. Who knew women's panties were such a minefield?" Sandy always knew to go a different way with the conversation. _

"_Don't say panties." Seth tried to ignore him. _

"_So? You and Summer good?" The direct approach always worked best. _

"_We will be." _

"_What did you do this time?" He knew this had to be Seth's fault. _

"_A certain circumstance was not fully disclosed, and my omission was discovered." _

_Could he be more vague, Sandy thought. "You got caught in a lie." _

"_In a nutshell, yeah, but I don't see why she's making such a big deal about it. It's not like it's the first time." _

_Sandy knew this one going to be one of those moments that defined him as a father. "Well, maybe she thinks of you as a man, not a kid. Kids lie all the time, but a man's only as good as his word." _

"_Well, summer deserves a good man." He said defeated. _

"_Summer has a good man." Sandy reassured. _

"_She does?" _

"_Yeah." _

"_Why didn't you tell me? How long have you known?" The joke signaled that Seth was done with this conversation. _

"_Just show her." Sandy said getting up. "I got to pick up a few more things for your mother. I promised her the best Valentine's day ever." He grabbed his bag, or so he thought, and exited the kitchen._

After picking up flowers & chocolate, Sandy was proud of himself. He managed not to screw this up. He walked into his bedroom, knowing Kirsten was probably in there.

As Sandy turned the corner Kirsten was thrilled to see he finally embraced it. Although completely strong armed into it, there he was with all the things he requested. "Oh!" Kirsten exclaimed.

"_For you." He handed her the chocolate and flowers. As he pulled the bag from behind his back, he continued. "Too bad you're already dressed. I was hoping you'd wear this." He knew they didn't have time, but wanted to make sure she knew he always wanted her. _

"_Oh!" She was so excited about receiving this type of gift from Sandy. "Is it the black one with the beige trim or the beige one with the black trim?" _

"_Find out." Sandy was equally excited. _

_As Kirsten pulled out something he never saw before, he was stunned. Kirsten was beyond shocked. The lingerie seemed sophomoric. How could he screw this up, she thought. Then a few things crossed her mind, which made the next words flow out of her mouth, wishing they were not true. "This is a fantasy I'm not aware of." _

"_I didn't buy that." His first thought was that she wasn't going to believe him._

"Oh, thank God." She exclaimed, a little too quickly.

He raised his eyebrows. "Kirsten, I know things are a bit off. Our lives seem to be on opposite schedules from what we are used to, but you know me. "

"It's just seems so…" She struggled with the next words. "Amateur?" She finished unsure if she was making a clear point. Her head was filled with ideas of Sandy having desires of sleeping with much younger girls.

He closed the space between them, wanting to make her understand. "Nothing about our sex life is amateur." He kissed her passionately. She didn't fully reciprocate, wanting to hear more, wanting to understand how this piece of lingerie ended up in her bedroom. "Even our first time was a perfectly performed dance. I love that about us." He searched her eyes for an honest answer. "Okay?"

"Yes." She said, still questioning it. "But how…"

Before she could continue, the light bulb went off and Sandy now figured out the mix up. "Oh God." A few realizations set in. The first realization was that he grabbed the wrong bag when he had that talk with Seth in the kitchen. The second being now he had to explain to Kirsten that Seth had bought lingerie for Summer. The third realization, and probably the worst one in Kirsten's eyes, was that Seth was going to see Kirsten's lingerie. She was going to die from sheer embarrassment.

Kirsten could see the wheels turning and wanted an answer. "What?"

He backed into a corner. "It's Seth."

"Huh?"

"The bag." He further explained. "It's Seth's bag." He was hoping she was not going to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. He knew better. She was smarter than him.

"Seth has my lingerie? He is going to see it?"

"Probably." He said, starting to smile. He couldn't help but see the humor in this.

"How can you think this is funny? Not only is Seth going to know what I wear to turn you on, even if it is just for a short moment, but he is also buying this for summer?" She said holding up the hanger.

"Don't get so upset." He said in an effort to extinguish the fire what was about to start.

"I am upset. You can be perfectly romantic on most days of the year, but you somehow manage to screw up this one day." She started to raise her voice.

"It's not ruined." He said, thinking she was making a bigger deal out of this than it should be. "You are letting this mix up ruin it." He really hated Valentine's Day. "Give me a little bit of time to fix it. Let's go to the event and try and have a good time." He never thought the day would come where he would be convincing her to have a good time at a Newpsie convention.

Once again, he was reminded how times have certainly changed.

At the event, Kirsten was extremely busy. It always started out like that. Once everything was running, she would have some time to enjoy herself. Sandy took this as an opportunity to corner Seth.

"_So did Summer give you back the bag?" _

"The conversation kind of went in a different direction after that." Seth explained, knowing the lingerie was the least of his problems.

Sandy was annoyed. He wanted to fix this, but deep down he didn't think it was a big deal. His lawyer skills were going to have to shine tonight.

Kirsten barely saw Sandy and a part of her needed space from him. She spotted Ryan and wanted to start a conversation with him. As time passed, Ryan has been much more open with them. She asked if he was alone tonight.

_The floodgates opened. "Marissa and I have been fighting a lot, mainly about whether Johnny was just a friend or if it was more than that. She says it wasn't. I don't think she's lying to me, but I think she might be lying to herself. Now that he's gone, how do we move forward, or if?" He felt a little sense of relief. It felt good to talk about it. Kirsten knew him better than most people and it was okay for him to express his frustrations._

Kirsten was surprised, but easily recovered. After all, her business was match making. "Well, the night's not over. Maybe there's a little pit stop you could make on the way home." She meant to rectify things with Marissa.

"_Yeah, actually there is. Thanks." Ryan's mind was on Sadie._

Sandy was standing off to the side, watching the whole exchange between Ryan and Kirsten. He loved how easily she transited from the unsure guardian to the supportive, loving parent.

He leaned in close wrapping his arms around her. Although she loved how he felt, she was still a bit upset. She knew she was acting childish, but Sandy's track record is sadly pathetic when it comes to ruining Valentine's Day.

He had to stay in a safe territory. He did not want to bring up what was plaguing her mind. _"How's Ryan?"_

"_Oh, he has a lot on his mind, as usual." Kirsten said, knowing that was all she had to say to Sandy regarding teen drama. Sandy didn't really buy into the whole thing. She figured it was because he didn't have to grow up in Newport. _

_He decided to change the subject , his eyes now focused on Matt & Maya. This drama was at least the profitable kind. "Oh, whoa! Matt and Maya seem to be getting along." _

"_Do you think they're talking about business?" She decided not to dwell on their elephant in the room._

"Yeah!" He figured he had to make a joke to lighten the mood. Humor would always fix things with Kirsten. " I think right now he's saying how our design offers more space for emergency care and outpatient services."

_She played along. "I think she's more concerned about wheelchair access in the lobby." _

"_Aw, she's a good soul."_

He wrapped his arms tighter, lowering his lips to her ear. "Dance with me?"

She spun around, wanting to look him in the eye. She didn't say anything, pretending she was contemplating the offer.

He stopped this charade. "You know, you can play hard to get all you want. I already won that game years ago." He pulled back, reaching for her hand. "Come dance with me." He started leading her to the dance floor.

She obliged, not wanting to give him anything. She wanted him to speak. She wanted him to fix how she felt even if things were honestly screwed up to no fault of Sandy's.

They did this a million times before. The held this stance through all their good and bad moments. From the outside looking in, they always looked perfect. They fit like a glove, their bodies intertwining, knowing a comfort that most would never get to experience in a lifetime.

That is what frustrated Kirsten to no end. For two people who knew each other so well, how can they sometimes feel so off? Everything about their life lately was not in sync with each other. Roles were reversed and times have certainly changed. Kirsten just figured it was going to just take some adjusting.

"What are you thinking about?" Sandy interrupted her thoughts.

"Nothing." She lied. Why was she lying? She didn't even understand what she was hiding. It was no secret that things were different, but it was, again, the elephant in the room. Neither of them was willing to open that can of worms.

"Just checking." He simply stated as he swayed with her to the music. Her hands were a bit cold so he covered her smaller one with his, moving it to his chest. "You are still right here." He said moving her hand closer to his heart.

She smiled sweetly, loving how he can take her to a place full of love and emotion. "Good." She said, but wanting him to understand, she continued. "But sometimes I want to be right here." She moved her hand to his head, tapping her pointer finger on his temple. She looked deep into his eyes, hoping she got her point across. She moved that same hand to the wisps of hair threatening to fall in front of his eyes. As she brushed the stray pieces away, she spoke. "I don't want to get lost. I don't want us to get lost."

He knew what she meant. They were lost for the majority of the previous year. He never wanted to live that nightmare again. "We won't."

He leaned in to kiss her. It wasn't rushed or passionate. He felt it to be assuring. Kirsten tried to get lost in the moment, but Sandy's last words were not convincing.

**Please review. I know it can be time consuming but I would greatly appreciate it. Also, be nice! Being out of the game has hindered my writing style. If I continue, I promise it to get better.**


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